


The Devil and the Deep

by JD_Riley



Series: Victorian A/B/O [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Developing Relationship, England (Country), F/F, First Kiss, First Time, High Seas Adventure, Historical, Kidnapping, Knotting, Loss of Virginity, Marriage Proposal, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mutual Pining, Omega Verse, Omegaverse, Sailing, Schooners, Sea Voyage, Slow Burn, Smut, Squirting, Vaginal Sex, Victorian, femAlpha/femOmega
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-11-03 16:27:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 73,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10971027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_Riley/pseuds/JD_Riley
Summary: Under threat of being forced to mate against her wishes, Victoria Lanchester has resorted to drastic measures, cutting off all of her luscious hair and posing as a man in order to disguise herself in her flight to America.  Finding a fast and discreet ship to take her across the Atlantic has its own set of perils but there is one that she was most certainly not counting on—Captain Ash Neverell.  What is she to do when the dashing and stunningly gorgeous Alpha starts to suspect that “Victor” may in fact be “Victoria?”





	1. Chapter 1

After all was said and done, Victoria was looking for a small boat. A small, _fast_ boat. Knowing nothing of sailing and having never in her life stepped foot upon any kind of ship, she was concerned only with the prospect of escaping England with the greatest of haste and with the smallest of fanfare. Her lady's maid, Anna, had assured her that her uncle was to be of some help, knowing quite a few sailors in Liverpool who might have been able to help them—though not while knowing their true intent. Her desperation was beginning to boil over.

“Do not fret, my Lady,” Anna cooed. “Jim has readied the coach and I have every piece of clothing you'll need. No one will see us, I promise you.”

There was another snip from behind her and she tried not to glance down at the place where another lock of her sandy blonde hair fell upon the pile of them on the carpet. She knew her scent was giving away all of her nervousness and frustration—every bit of her terror. She couldn't be sure if the fear was more from the prospect of escape or the prospect of being caught in the attempt. She sat nervously in nothing but her shift, her fingers twining together while she closed her eyes and focused on the soothing way Anna's fingers were carding through what was left of her beautiful hair. More locks tumbled over her shoulders on their way to the floor while the intermittent snips continued, drawing her into the jaws of regret.

“You'll look just as pretty as you ever did, my Lady, I promise you. There's no hiding those freckles and those eyes, no doubt. Your hair will grow back in time but for now, it'll be easier for you this way. We agreed on this point, you remember.”

“I remember,” she murmured. It didn't make her feel any better about losing those shining, perfect waves of gold that had become her trademark in the ballrooms of London. Her first season had been a thing of wonder, her wide, poofed feathers and pale muslin gowns drawing the eyes of every Alpha. The _greed_ of every Alpha.

“Alright, my Lady, all finished. Would you like to take a glance?”

“No,” she whispered. “Please. I cannot see it.” It was short, she knew. Too short. “Help me dress, please.”

Anna did as she was bade, commenting lightly on how lucky Victoria was for having small breasts, there being no need to bind them for them to be hidden well under a shirt or a waistcoat. In men's clothes, they were unnoticeable. The tailored outfit was one of many and was mostly black, a color picked by the footman, Jim, who had taken the measurements and ordered it himself. He had assured Victoria that such a color was most apt to dissuade potential Alphas from descending upon her out of the blue—a statement she thoroughly doubted. She was disastrously aware of how irresistible her scent could be to Alphas who were prone to prowl the edges of gardens and snake their way through parlors on cold spring nights.

She gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists, her resolve bolstered by her thoughts. When she was entirely dressed, she crept with her maid to the door of her chamber and they made their way down the back stairwell to the kitchens. Jim had readied the horses and the coach was waiting by the back door, her sparse bit of luggage already packed and set aboard. When she turned around, the small Beta housekeeper, Mrs. Middly was dabbing under her eyes with a linen handkerchief.

“Please do not weep for me,” Victoria told her nearly breathlessly. “My hair. It is still on the floor. Take it. Keep it. As a memento of me.” She wrapped her arms around the woman, breathing in her mild and comforting Beta scent one more time. Perhaps for the last of all. “I love you all so much. I will miss you.”

“Oh, but dear,” Middly sniffed. “You must go.” She chuckled a bit while she pulled Victoria away from her and gave her a once-over. “A fine young man you'd make. America has never seen a more beautiful Omega.”

She gave a sorrowful smile. “Let us hope there is a future for me there. Whatever it may be.”

“Make certain to sail at morning. I shall keep them from you for as long as possible but you may not dally.” She gave a hard eye to the little Omega. “You are in great danger, my lovely girl. You _must_ sail in the morn and you must be _safe_ as you go.”

“I shall do my best,” she replied. It was the only promise she could make. When it came to finding a ship willing to take her on, she was putting her trust in a man she had never before met. As far as she was aware, most Captains were Alphas and most sailors were of the more masculine dynamics. She was at the mercy of whomever could take her without having to know anything about her. She was at the mercy of whomever could get her to America without anyone knowing that she was going—ever. Traveling as an Omega was always treacherous without a mate or a proper Alpha to accompany but traveling as a debutante was sheer suicide.

Her disguise was simple but it would do well. _Victoria_ had been snipped away, her identity falling in bits and snippets, left in a heap where it would have no more use. _Victor Howe_ was a young orphaned Omega with a meager inheritance seeking a future in the American west as a teacher. Well-versed in French, the pianoforte, reading, writing, and maths, he was seeking independence. It was quite close to the truth, she often thought, and when stated aloud, she was almost convinced of it herself. If fate required, she was prepared to keep the name and the avowed intention. No one ever had to know of _Victoria_. Not if she didn't wish it.

She quickly boarded the coach with Anna and watched through the window as the estate rolled away behind them, her nerves settling with every hoof beat that landed before the coach, carrying them further and further from the threat that was coiled and ready to strike in the dark halls of Hempsdown. She closed her eyes and drifted into a light slumber until she was awoken some time later in the still darkness as the coach eased to a stop.

“How long has it been?” she muttered to Anna who had her hands in her lap, her face pale through the darkness.

“A few hours, my Lady. We have arrived. My uncle shall be able to take us in until the morning.” When Jim opened the door, Anna went first, lifting a hand to help Victoria from the carriage, setting her down on the cobble of the street. She was able to give Jim only a soft kiss to his cheek in thanks before he had released her single trunk into her care and leaped back into the seat of the coach to return to Hempsdown before his absence was noted.

The house she was ushered into was small but cozy and the two older Betas she was introduced to were warm and inviting, their scents soothing while they poured her some tea. Anna's aunt and uncle had apparently heard all about her circumstances through what she deduced were rather detailed letters written by the verbose ladies maid. They crooned over her and set her to bed after assuring her that they would be able to find a willing Captain as soon as the docks came to life when the sun had risen. She was only able to sleep in segments and fitfully, finding that she'd had much better rest in the cramped space of the coach than she did in a proper bed with Anna only taking up about a third of the thing along with her.

When the time came for her to wake, she was ready, though not quite willingly so. She was escorted by Anna and her uncle to a small, dingy little tavern near the coast of the city, the docks already beginning to teem with life. That the small place was even open for business had Victoria marveling, the inside of it smelling of salt and the scent of sea-faring Alphas, their mingled spices holding some kind of tone that she couldn't quite put her finger on. They sat at one of the more isolated tables, Victoria disturbingly aware of how her scent was filling up the dimly lit barroom, causing the few eyes that were present to turn toward her with curiosity.

“I searched for a little while,” the older male Beta said gruffly, “And I managed to come into acquaintance with a man who sails with a Captain named Neverell. Says he can get the Alpha here to talk to you. Might be willing to take you.”

Victoria nodded, her nervousness flooding out of her. “ _Might_ is better than nothing, I suppose.”

She was given a bit of sherry to sip which she did until she was suddenly assaulted by a scent that put a hard set of flutters into her belly. She could have panicked when she realized that the fragrance belonged to the no less than stunning Alpha that was clearly coming to sit with them, her boots thumping ominously over the uneven wooden floor with every fateful step she took closer to Victoria. The Omega almost couldn't help herself from staring wide-eyed at the Alpha's infallible beauty.

_This cannot be the Captain._

Neverell put out her hand as Anna's uncle stood to shake it, the two of them giving each other slight bows as they introduced themselves. When the Captain sat, Victoria was intensely aware of the Alpha's scrutinizing gaze, her small form being studied and taken in very carefully by the tall, well-built, _exquisite_ example of _Alpha_. Having no experience with female Alphas, she should have been ashamed to say that this was the closest she had ever come to one, their presence among the ton something of an oddity save the illustrious and handsome Lady Netherfield who had somehow managed to marry well despite her, usually, unfortunate status. She should have been prepared, she thought, but who could have been prepared for a scent such as _this_? It was clear and fresh and smelled like a summer's day even from across the table. She couldn't even imagine the kind of thrill she would have gained from just a single whiff of the woman's wrist.

“I understand you're looking for passage to America, Mr. Howe,” Neverell began, her voice distinctly feminine despite being deep and well-pronounced in the typical Alpha manner.

It took a moment for Victoria to realize that it was _she_ who was being addressed.

“Oh...oh yes. The fastest that can be managed, I hope.”

“Ah,” she nodded, her voice growing softer. “That's why you want a clipper? For speed? You know, there are more suitable ships for Omegas to travel upon. They may not be quite so fast as my schooner but they would be much safer.” Neverell's eyes were heavily lidded with dark, thick lashes. “Although I am under the impression that you're looking for more than just speed.”

Victoria wasn't sure what the Alpha was hinting toward. An admission of something? Truly what she wanted was to be left alone for the duration of the journey and to be left unnoticed on the docks of Charleston or even New York if the case may have been. She did not much care where she was left, her concern settled mostly in the idea that no one were to know _who she was_. There was no doubt in her mind that they would set out to find her. That she would be chased for the rest of her life if she could not set herself adrift forever in the sea of America.

“No matter,” the Alpha snipped, impatient with Victoria's silence. “My clipper is set to sail in an hour and I noted that you have precious little baggage. That and your attire is a great clue to your disposition, Mr. Howe. I have no time for featherbrained little Omegas on my ship skipping about and causing any trouble but you do not seem to fit that bill. I suppose you have enough in your purse to incite me to give up my quarters and sleep with my crew so that you may travel unburdened by the specter of rape.” Her perfectly arched brow popped upward toward her mass of long, tumbling auburn.

A lump formed in her throat at the sound of the very word and she sputtered. “I...o-of course. I-I...I will be quh-quite eager to pay for such a luxury...if it is available for purchase.”

“Everything has a price and, as I am not averse to accommodating you, that one is relatively small. I trust that you will not go into heat during your trip. I will not take you otherwise.”

She felt her cheeks flame. “I will not. I assure you.”

“If we are to become waylaid in any manner, is it of a concern to you?”

Victoria swallowed. “No. It is of no concern.” Her heat was not scheduled to come for quite a few weeks. Far longer than the journey would take. It had all been part of the plan. It had been just one of their reasons for such haste. The other was probably still laying abed at Hempsdown, dreaming of his to-be fortune he would no doubt fritter away in game rooms and White's. The fortune she was going to deny him in any way she could manage. It was, after all, tied to her legally through her father's will. No Alpha could touch it without their bondmark on her neck, the dowry written into his will for his favorite daughter in the hopes that she would marry well—a curse that had done exactly the opposite, attracting the indebted Alphas of the ton who were keen to find a way to erase their misfortune with the added bonus of bedding Victoria.

When one particular Alpha had made an impression on her mother, the pressure had begun to mount for her to marry him. Her cousin had once called Mr. Swophill, the future viscount of Vritton, a sad excuse for a parlor-snake and she was of a mind to entirely agree with the assessment. Her mother had been completely bewitched by him but his wiles were not so great as to ensnare Victoria. More to the contrary, she had seen through his facade quickly, needing only to watch the way he interacted with his own staff at a garden party held at his estate. He would not be a kind or loving husband in any form and her cousin assured her that his debts were many and varied. Having no affection for him, it was easy for her to see through to his true intentions. He was at Hempsdown and he was determined to bond with her—by force if necessary if the talk from the servants was anything to trust. It had become imperative that she abscond if she were going to remain unbonded and safe from the questionable fate of Swophill's bite.

It was the common fate of any Omega to place their lives into the hands of unfamiliar Alphas but as Victoria peered upward across the beaten table into the dark eyes of this enigmatic sea-faring woman, she couldn't help but lay down a thin foundation of trust.

The Alpha leaned forward, her scent stronger, sending a distinct shiver straight through to Victoria's bones. “I care not for your reasons for leaving England, little one, but I will not permit a sudden regret. I am well-aware of an Omega's _whimsy_. You take your life in your hands sailing aboard any ship not designed for your comfort and you _will_ land in Charleston no matter your feelings on the subject while you are at sea.”

She felt a slice of frustration cut through her heart. “I will not have my determination questioned. I do not make decisions lightly, Captain.” She bit her lip to prevent herself from offending the testy Alpha.

“Well enough. Do you intend to bring your maid or will you be sailing alone? Shall I intend on having my valet assist you?”

“Regrettably, I will be unable to keep Anna with me,” she noted as she felt her shoulders slump. The Beta had a whole life in England that had nothing to do with Victoria's plight. She would never ask that the woman accompany her on such a dangerous venture.

Neverell stood. “Very well. You will have Carlton to assist you and tend to your needs. You will be permitted only in the Captains quarters and the deck but with an escort only, that is, myself or Carlton. There are no other spaces on the boat that are suitable for an Omega to wander and you will abide by these rules or you will be locked into my quarters and you will not be allowed to leave them until you have been dropped upon the docks at your destination, is that clear?”

“Quite,” she agreed as she stood to follow.

She was led to the docks with Anna and her uncle trailing behind them, Victoria's steps light and quick to keep up with Neverell's long gait. She strode with that resolute Alpha confidence that Victoria could have only wished to possess, her shoulders squared and her body thrumming with power and authority. What the Captain had called a “clipper” was something that Victoria might have dubbed a yacht with two jutting masts with furled sails to be let down when her flight to America began. A tad bit of alarm swept into her when she noted the gun mounts that were prominent on the side, an equal amount of them assumed to be placed on the other.

“Calm yourself, Omega,” Neverell chuckled. “You will come to no harm if you heed my orders.”

She squeaked. “Guns, Captain?”

“Merely a precaution.”

“Against...”

The Alpha cast a sidelong glance in her direction, amusement dancing in her amber eyes. “I do not allow my ship to be boarded, little one. I do not care to lose any of the precious cargo I carry and I would die before I saw my ship at the bottom of the sea.” She smiled. “I expected that you would be appreciative of such a defense, as you happen to _be_ a small bit of said cargo.”

She was still puzzling over the necessity of said guns while she gave several hugs and kisses to Anna, thanking her profusely for her role in her escape before she was led aboard by the honestly intimidating Captain. Several of the crewmen cast her mostly indifferent expressions as she was led across the deck and led down to a door that was opened for her, the quarters infused with the clear, fresh scent of the Captain. A scruffy Beta followed with her trunk and introduced himself as Carlton, his appearance making her wonder if it would be better idea to simply insist that she would be much better suited to functioning entirely alone. The unfamiliar nature of the quest, however, kept her mouth firmly shut. She would need a friendly face if she were to survive without weeping constantly.

“Forgive me,” Neverell muttered, “I do not sail with Omegas under normal circumstances so I know nothing of your needs. I will have all of the sheets washed and aired so you do not have to lay in my scent. I hope that you do not find my quarters overly offensive to your delicate nose.”

She shook her head. “I am in no way offended by you, Captain. It is I who should apologize. I am the interloper and you shall have to endure my own scent after you are rid of me. I have no wish to overly burden you.”

“Oh no,” Neverell murmured, taking a step closer to Victoria, only inches away from touching her, those hard amber eyes turning soft in the warm lamplight in the cabin. “No, no. Fear nothing of the sort, little one. Your scent is quite striking, to be blunt. I will enjoy it while it lasts.” There was warmth and a contentment swirling about in the Alpha's aroma as well as a distinct tone of apprehension that was most curious. “Tonight perhaps you will permit me to join you to dine? I've a Frenchman for a cook and I am certain he is trained to your tastes, Mr. Howe. It is rare that I have the opportunity to entertain a guest and one that is so pretty as you is even rarer still.”

“That...that seems acceptable,” she bumbled, wondering what exactly she had agreed to. The feeling was mostly unformed but it was slowly being molded together. As an Omega aboard a ship bound for America, she was at the mercy of a crew of Alphas and Betas who, presumably, could have been starved of sex for weeks at a time. The Captain was her only hope to be protected from them, Neverell's graces the only barrier that would place a consequence should she be touched by a wayward sailor. Without at least a tiny bit of affection from the stunningly beautiful Captain, Victoria could end up defiled and unmasked before she even landed in Charleston. The thought led her her next stutter. “I...I am quite grateful for your graciousness, Captain. I should find myself in your debt if you are to spoil me so.”

Neverell's head tilted to the side, her tall form looming over her. As frightening as Swophill had been when he had done the same, Victoria found herself curiously without fear while she stood solidly in her place. “Then I shall be careful not to coddle you overly, Mr. Howe. I should not wish for you to incur any sort of obligation that you find you are unable to repay.” In a curious gesture, the Captain hooked her finger and drew it along the delicate underside if Victoria's chin, pulling a soft gasp from the Omega's throat before she was suddenly gone, the cabin suddenly empty around the little debutante, her mind free to focus on the gentle sway beneath her feet and the crushing weight of her uncertain future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're just doing a tour through the possible dynamic pair-ups now, I guess. Everyone: Victoria and Ash. Speaking. In the first chapter. That's unheard of for me. *confetti* Considering this, I'll have to really pace this one carefully since they're trapped on a boat together. Hah.
> 
> Well, I'm glad to have everyone on this adventure with me. Keep in mind, previous to any research for this story, I'm in the same boat (hah, puns) as Victoria. I've never been on a schooner in my life! If you see anything horribly wrong about my portrayal of an 1800s clipper, please let me know.
> 
> EDIT: The tag police came after me on this one somewhere around Chapter 18 (they got THAT far). I will not be tagging this story with it, but please be advised that with my original tags "Vaginal Sex" and "Knotting," it's pretty safe to assume that my female Alphas will be in possession of a _penis_. This is something that's very common in Omegaverse stories so if you're new here, take note. I thought I'd mention it since it's safe to assume plenty of people haven't been reading this as a series and weren't warned previously. Thank you, that is all. For more information, you can chat with me and read more about my Omegaverse at my Tumblr, [J.D. Writes](https://jdwrites.tumblr.com/).


	2. Chapter 2

Ash had never found any reason to hold fondness for rain, especially English rain which was always cold and fell in lazy drips straight downward from the gray skies above. Wrapped in canvas, she and her crew worked to unmoor, pulling away from their berth and heading slowly out to sea. As the rain was light, the waves were not so challenging and it was not difficult for her helmsman to set their course. She took over the wheel for a small time, her thoughts while she controlled her ship turning toward the young, pleasant Omega who was currently sequestered in her quarters. She held the wheel fast while the schooner attempted to give a small pitch starboard.

_He must be quite bored._

It mattered not. He would be bored for much of the duration of their journey, she assumed. An Omega had no earthly business upon a quick and mighty schooner such as _Apollo_. Her crew had been informed of his presence and warned with a swift and brutal keelhaul if they were to but brush against him. She was in no mood to have any of her sailors thrown from the bow and dragged along the bottom of her ship. For that matter, it did not seem to be of issue. Even the mere hint of the presence of an Omega seemed to calm her crew immensely, their persistent and heavy cussing lightened considerably.

Aside, the fair little man should have plenty of entertainment if he were to inspect the various novels and essays she kept upon her shelves in her quarters. She felt her cheeks flush at her imaginings of his small form curled in her berth, his wide eyes roving over her books and his long and delicate fingers holding a novel with care. She blinked but the daydream would not cease even as she held the wheel steady against a few soft pitches while her men worked the sails. His pale and supple skin, whatever she could see of it, had been so damnably alluring and the presence of his dappling freckles had vexed her so. He was uniquely feminine. Moreso than any male Omega she had ever met.

_He's beautiful._

Beautiful and also running from something. Or someone. The latter was more likely the case and Ash was constantly reminded of that niggling sensation in the back of her brain that had warned her against taking Victor Howe aboard. It was her casual attraction that had done her poorly. His wide blue eyes and his tiny frame had been her undoing when it had come to her holding suspicions of his intent. There was no doubt that someone was going to be looking for the little minx but the question was whether or not they were going to be coming after him with force. Though there were few English imperial ships that could intercept _Apollo_ , she knew of many small schooners run by privateers that could very well give her a run for her money.

_But his scent._

Nevermind that it would be everywhere, the prospect was both enticing and utterly maddening. It held a quality that she had never before encountered and she was nearly desperate to smell it again, wondering to herself if she would be so enthralled as to corner him in order to gain a proper sniff. It would not be difficult to pinion his arms to his sides and bring him to her nose for a quick and proper scent. No doubt he would be horrified and rightfully indignant at the sudden invasion of his privacy but she had scented plenty of Omegas and was unafraid of their reactions. Howe was quite small, even for an Omega, and his shoulders were very narrow. He could not give a punishing blow even if he had wished it and Ash was confident that she could handle any of his fierce modesty.

He was likely of high birth, she thought, noting his slim frame and the tailored, pristine condition of his ensemble. She had encountered many debutantes in her time, a fact that much of her crew would have found rather laughable if she were to admit it aloud to them. Especially if she were to admit that she had been much enamored by them many of the times she had made their acquaintance.

Carlton's husky salted voice brought her mind back from its ramblings.

“Captain, yer supper is to be served shortly within your quarters as ye ordered.”

She hailed the helmsman, Malto, and the hearty Alpha took her place while she tapped down the stairs to the companionway and carelessly dropped her canvas cloak to the floor before she remembered herself and knocked gently upon her own cabin door.

“Come in.”

With some kind of odd relief running rampant in her blood, Ash opened the door to find the little Omega not nearly comfortable enough in his surroundings—casting a horrible dissonance against how she had imagined him only moments before, wrapped in linen, his shoulders white and bare while he lounged in her bed, reading. The true Mr. Howe was stiff and uncertain, standing next to the small table at which they would have their supper. He was looking a bit green and perhaps a trifle disconcerted by the Alpha's entry into such a small space alone with him. She couldn't quite blame him. She _had_ been intending on scenting him.

His scent, however, had soured significantly.

“I gather,” she began, “That you are unaccustomed to sea travel.”

The tiny Mr. Howe brought his hands up to his stomach, fidgeting with his fingers while he gave a slight nod. “I am so afraid, Captain, that I may be unable to properly dine with you.”

“Does my scent leave you ill, Mr. Howe?”

“No...no...” The little Omega frowned deeply and moved to sit in one of the heavy mahogany chairs. “Much the contrary,” he breathed. “I am embarrassed to find that you have quite a calming aroma for me. It is strange for me to behold something of the like. I am more used to finding the various scents of Alphas sharp and repulsive.”

Ash felt her cheeks again flush with the slight compliment to her fragrance. “It is a relief to note that I remain in your nose's good graces and that I am able to provide you with relief from your illness.” There was something of a bit of pride that she couldn't help but keep from her voice and she noticed with glee the way her words had put a pinkish tint to Mr. Howe's high cheekbones and had sweetened his scent just a smidgen. She moved to sit across from the enigmatic Mr. Howe and found herself studying him much as she had done in the tavern.

He was very slightly trembling and his eyes did not dare move upwards toward hers. He was afraid of her, no doubt, and the sourness in his scent was not only from illness. She drew upward, affronted by the realization that the little Omega must have very well known and was making peace with the notion that he may have to let her have her way in order to remain free from the hands of the crew.

_He is expecting me to take advantage of him._

The sudden dawning sent a bolt of anger through her and as the Omega scented it, he cowered, his crystal eyes watering as he instinctively jerked his head to the side, drawing more of his pale throat from his cravat in a display of pure submission. His breaths were quickening at the heady anger in the air and Ash found the space between her brows creasing deeply.

“Do not panic, Mr. Howe. You have paid for passage to America and this is precisely what you will find. You have nothing to fear from me as an Omega or otherwise.” She sighed when Carlton brought their first course, a light creamy soup, his face remaining passive even as he surely scented the deep wells of discomfort within the cabin. When the Beta was gone, she spoke again, forcing herself to calm. “Please do not consider me any sort of threat. I find you quite attractive and in that regard, I will be nothing but protective of you. No more than that. My men have already been told that a mere touch upon you will send them to their maker. You are in no danger from I nor anyone else on this vessel so long as you abide by my rules.”

Even as the sour fear in Howe's scent faded, it lingered in her nose and she was almost moved to open the door to the cabin just to air it out.

“I apologize, Captain,” he sniffled. “I am so terribly frightened...of everything. It must be such a burden upon you to have taken me aboard and here I am and I am acting so horribly ungrateful. There is nothing meant by it, I swear it...it is simply that I...I have never met an Alpha who had not...”

“Had not preyed upon you? That does not surprise me, little one,” she scoffed. “You are from a family of some means. Did your first season not go well for you?”

His eyes finally found her face. “No...that is...yes. It went...it went as...as expected.”

“As expected?” Ash asked incredulously, “You are mated then? Am I guilty of having separated an Alpha from their Omega? Such a crime is not taken lightly, Mr. Howe.”

“I am not mated,” he replied, his voice showing evidence of his slight tremors. “Thank God above, I am not mated.”

Ash leaned forward, dipping her spoon into the heavy pewter bowl before her, tasting what her chef had made for her. It was fine and rich. Perhaps too rich for an upset stomach. She regarded the Omega with pity. “Who do you run from, little dove? Your father? Your betrothed?”

He did not speak, his mouth firmly shut, his plush lips forming a tight line across his sinfully beautiful face. Howe inched forward in his seat and, still frowning, reached for the spoon next to his dish with a shaking hand.

“The soup is a tad rich, perhaps not the course to ease your stomach,” she warned.

He sipped at it anyway, ignoring the Alpha's caution, his eyes studying way his burgundy wine tilted in the glass upon the table along with the sway of the clipper.

“Some believe that it is a typical trait of Omegas to be as pliant as gossamer cobwebs. But in my experience, you're all just as recalcitrant as any Alpha. I am no stranger to ballrooms, dove. I've met plenty of the debutantes and you're all about the same.”

“And Alphas, Captain? Are you not all the same as well?”

“Oh, we can be quite similar. But I am not about to hound you, Mr. Howe. You've been hounded enough, it seems.” The thought of anyone, even his betrothed, coming after him strongly enough to send him jumping into the first ship in the water was enough to allow for frustration to bloom in her chest.

“I should be grateful for your protection, Captain.”

“You should consider my protection a matter of normalcy, for Alphas have but one function and that is to protect the fairer sex. Any who can easily pervert the notion are nothing but depraved and immoral fools. There are many but they are not to be considered the norm.”

He took a deep breath and spooned more soup into his pretty mouth. “Enough,” he mused, “For me to be wary of them all.”

Ash felt herself flinch. He was right, after all. There were enough truly malevolent Alphas who had bucked their protectiveness in favor of a terrible and chilly prowess. A dominating urge that sought to be slaked by the constant deflowering of virgin Omegas and even Betas if the mood struck. They used their ruts as an excuse to take whatever they wished with no consideration to the consequences. The poor little Omegas who were careless enough or unfortunate enough to fall into their traps—well Ash could only hold pity in her heart for them.

She had witnessed much in her years upon the sea and in the ports across the coasts and she was in no way ignorant to the amount of tricksters that came upon unsuspecting Omegas only to capture them for many a dark purpose. In the blink of an eye, a young man could be snatched. Ash narrowed her eyes at Howe, watching his spoon tremble with his hand.

“Excuse my impertinence, Mr. Howe, but what are your plans when we are to reach Charleston? You are alone, you said. You are in acquaintance with no one in America. Is that true?”

“It is,” he replied. “I wish to gain some independence. I have heard that there is much unsettled land in the west and that there are communities there that go without educators for their young children. I hope to fill their need. I am well-versed in many subjects and I believe I should make a lovely teacher.”

Ash balked at the unfamiliar feeling that had washed over her when she listened to Howe speak of his future with such hope and warmth. She had found herself _smiling_ when he had spoken of his dream and she was nearly appalled with herself. It was a dream based on mere wishes. For an Omega, the west was perhaps even more dangerous than the port he would arrive in. Only the sturdiest of Omegas made their journey into the west, facing an unforgiving landscape, tempestuous weather, and brutal Indian attacks. Settlements were varied and spread thin in most places and the characters one found while sequestered in the prairies were not always the kindest of souls. She wanted his dream to come true.

_That's absurd._

“You'll be eaten alive,” she blurted.

Howe drew up, his back stiff and his tiny shoulders squared. His sour scent heated with the assertion. “Excuse me?”

Carlton again made his appearance and cleared the soup bowls, his eyes again darting between the two parties in the room while he presented the the next course, his nose flaring and his nervousness bleeding into the air. He left in a rush and Ash couldn't help but feel terribly for him. What he must have been thinking had transpired in that room should have been horrifying.

Ash swallowed and picked up her fork, prodding decidedly into the duck in front of her that was fair falling off its bones. “What it is that I meant to say, little dove,” she responded, galled at the mere idea that she felt obligated to explain herself, “was that you are simply so small and the west is so...dangerous. You are alone, Mr. Howe. In England, in ballrooms, it is possible to be alone with many other people but in the prairies, it is possible to be alone with not a single human within range of your screams. At least...a single human who would wish to help you.” She cleared her throat and put the first morsel of the duck in her mouth, swallowing while she watched the Omega's face pale. “You do not look the type to have experience with a rifle and I daresay you may be knocked flat upon your back if you were to be bold enough to try. How in the devil did you really think you were going to even get there? Hire a guide? You are terribly naïve if this is the case, I'm afraid.”

There were two splotches of color high on Howe's cheeks and his scent had fully spiced into anger and frustration. “How dare you?” he asked, his voice husky with unshed tears. “I am entirely capable of—”

“Getting yourself killed,” Ash finished for him. “When we arrive in Charleston, I shall introduce you to some acquaintances who may be able to assist you. But know this, little dove: you are in danger every moment. How are you to handle your heats? How are you to navigate this world without a soul to trust?”

_What sort of nightmare would force you to make such a leap into the unknown?_

She had told Howe that she didn't care about his reasons for leaving England but with every passing minute, her curiosity was welling, frothing, and overflowing. She had met Omegas in her life who were fully capable of having made their way into the wilderness but they were not lithe and beautiful. They did not appear so damnably _fragile_ the way he did. They were strong, powerful, and they were, most importantly, _mean_. They did not weep. They didn't faint. They did not _submit._

Mr. Howe was _not_ one of them.

He swallowed convulsively before her, fighting his natural urge to tilt his head to her. “There are many good people in this world, Captain. I will not lose my faith in them. Angels walk the Earth everyday. I will get by.”

She regarded him blankly and lifted her wine glass, sipping from it and crossing her legs where she sat. “Angels walk, Mr. Howe,” she agreed in a low tone, catching his crystal blue eyes to hers. “and the Devil sails.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's a sailor and you see me say something stupid, please let me know. Sailing is like a whole 'nother language. I've probably put 8-9 hours into research and I still don't know what I'm talking about half the time.
> 
> Shout out to my Beta. You know who you are.
> 
> Comments, Questions, and Concerns are all welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

She had expected to be chastised for her decisions by plenty of Alphas or Betas she encountered along her journey but she had never, for a moment, believed that she would have taken such words to heart. They were delivered so bluntly but felt cutting and deep when Neverell delivered them with her strong tone and with that undeniable authority that bled into her scent and steeped into the small cabin. Most Alpha scents could turn her stomach in such close quarters and instilled something akin to fear within her when she was around them overly long. Neverell's, though not in the slightest sickening, still incited that curious emotion...that nervousness halfway to terror. It was giddiness and fear and attraction all rolled up into one tight little ball that settled just under her heart. She fought against frustrated tears.

If only she had presented as an Alpha. If only she had been built stronger, faster, _better_ than she had been. If the circumstances of her dynamic could only have made her capable of proving her worth and doing so merely by stating her intentions in that so very _Alpha_ voice... She could have done whatever she wished and would not have had to flounder under the withering stares of any who saw her as unfit. As weak.

She growled, her illness all but forgotten in her ire. “I am a grown adult, Captain. I will make my own decisions and I will face my own consequences. I understand the stakes and I do not need a reminder of their height.”

Neverell set down her wineglass and gave a slight sigh, her scent evening out into something Victoria thought could have been resignation. “Just as I thought,” she mused. “No gossamer Omega sits at my table. You do not surprise me, Mr. Howe. Cheeky little thing, you are.”

If her back could have stiffened any further, it would have. She was past the point of being rightfully appalled by the Captain's flippant manner and she was dismayed by the fact that she was only sitting in front of the second course. The untouched duck taunted her. She felt almost well enough to eat it, her stomach ceasing its flipping and flopping as the Captain's soothing and salted scent pervaded the small room. It was her frustration that kept her from picking at it, a block somehow sitting in her esophagus.

_How could she just mention a heat? How cavalier!_

She should think that she had never been so openly embarrassed. For an Alpha to come right out and ask her how she intended on handling her heats? It was like some kind of ghastly nightmare. Certainly, it had been something to consider when she had been plotting her escape but the servants had plenty of advice for such events and she had been relying on a sense of _propriety_ in Alphas or Betas who encountered her on her travels. She most certainly had not been expecting anyone to be so glib about something so delicate.

When the Captain spoke again, she couldn't help but flinch, jolted from her errant thoughts.

“The Masterson family in Charleston. Their son is a good sailor. He made a few crossings with me. He was a good shantyman and he knew the ropes well. I will be docked in port for a few days at the very least and I shall make certain that you are well looked-after while I am there. I can't have you disappearing off the docks with some crimp looking to _supply_ his seamen.” She leaned back and crossed her arms. “It's the last anyone would ever hear of you, you can be sure. I'm not content to leave you to your own devices.”

She ground her teeth. “That is very noble of you, Captain but I assure you that it is unnecessary. I will not be...kidnapped...”

“Shanghaied.”

She puzzled at the word and then puzzled again at its implications. “There is...there is a term for...”

Neverell chuckled, her grin warm. “Oh little dove.” She picked up her wine and sipped it again, swirling it in the globe of her glass while she let go another small set of laughter. “Please do not let your pride put you in danger. You have been wronged somehow and the fact is only so apparent. An Alpha has sent you scurrying to the corners of the world and if I were only a Beta, you would not be so on guard. Let me help you. I know not if an Alpha's promise means much to you but a Captain's word? I would give you that, at least, that I only wish to help you.”

She let her gaze snip into Neverell's amber eyes. “I _will_ have my independence, Captain. I will not be controlled. I will do nothing that is not my will. If I am to be aided, it is upon my own terms. Is that understood?”

The Alpha nodded, her disquieting stare putting Victoria even further on edge. The Omega felt as though there must have been a limit to her patience but the Captain was stretching her further and further, her whole being becoming tightened and drawn. When Neverell spoke again, it was to change the subject.

“Tell me of the season. I fear I have not attended one since I was fresh-faced and newly presented. Of course,” her eyes sparkled, “It was merely as a spectator.”

Victoria felt herself somewhat unwind, her shoulders just barely loosening with the unexpected query. She let her eyes fall to the edge of the table while she reflected on the way female Alphas were normally left. They were not well-received in society, their brothers given titles above them and they were considered often a burden. Though able to own property and inherit wealth, they were normally matched to the odd, plain-faced Omegas who had weathered too many seasons. The Omegas who were desperate for some kind of holding or some kind of security would often end up with the female Alphas who had been given a stipend by their fathers or uncles and who were left to their own devices and meager earnings. That was, of course, when such a female Alpha could be found. As they were inexplicably rare in the higher tiers of society, much like male Omegas, any who presented as such were normally expected to abscond. Much like what Victoria had just done.

She eyed the Captain suspiciously. “The season was lovely. Frills and lace, as I recall.”

“And feathers? You Omegas have a tender love affair with those fluffy little feathers.” She almost sounded wistful.

“Oh yes,” Victoria smiled, allowing herself to relax a small bit more, barely registering the yawing of the ship around her. “There were plenty of feathers. A whole sea of them, I remember. Swishing gowns, strings of pearls, glittering candles...” She shrugged. “It is always so lovely.”

“And you danced, little one?”

“Oh,” she flushed. “Sometimes, yes. I am not a very good dancer, admittedly. The poor men who chose to dance with me must have found me quite dreadful. I am sorry to say that I was most jealous of the Beta girls. Most of them were not so unlucky as to be caught unawares outside of the...”

“Oh lord,” the Captain interrupted. “I nearly forgot the _cluster_ of Omegas.” She gave a barking laugh. “A nearly impenetrable defense and so darling of you all. Ingenious, really, and quite sporting. If I had been more than a spectator, I should have made you all flutter apart just to make things more interesting for the lions in the den.”

“Then I should be glad that you were not an active participant,” Victoria snickered, wondering how well such a tactic would have succeeded in creating utter chaos and disorder. She imagined that the scent of dozens of distressed Omegas would have sent the entire ballroom into a frenzy. “Although I would very much like to see a ballroom tumble down upon itself, I would _not_ like to be present at the time of its occurrence.” She let out a small but pleasant giggle but stifled it when the sound seemed to perk the Alpha's interest. “Though you did say that you attended a season...I am curious.”

“Ah.” She waved her hand. “High blood for an Alpha like me is nothing that cannot be remedied by a midnight flight to Bristol.”

“Then you are from a noble family?”

“Noble!” She laughed. “There is nothing noble about families. Only people. I have met more noble of men in the gutters of New York than I have in the peerage of London.”

“Have you spent much time in London recently?” As soon as she had considered picking up her fork, Carlton wandered in to clear the course. If he had been surprised by her untouched food, he did not make it known. He replaced the entree with a stack of some varied tarts and then quickly left.

“I'm afraid I have been quite busy and have not had the pleasure. I cannot imagine that it has changed much in the time between then and now.”

The Omega shrugged again and picked up her small silver fork, tapping at her tart's perfect flaky crust. “I was merely asking because I was curious as to if you had made acquaintance with the Lady Earl.”

“Lady Earl?” Neverell's expression turned to that of consternation.

“Oh yes. Netherfield. I have not met her either but I hear that she is quite handsome. I heard it told that her father had a litter of naught but girls. There is no law against bestowing a title upon an Alpha daughter and so I suppose the late Earl did so much as to keep it within his line.” She picked out a small piece of the tart and popped it into her mouth, savoring the tangy sweetness on her tongue. “She married...” She frowned and tapped the tines of her fork on her bottom lip in thought. “Elridge? Mr. Elridge. Lord Halwill's—”

“Brother!” Neverell marveled. “Incredible. Valentine Elridge? Married at last? The poor boy. Thank the heavens.”

Victoria blinked. “Yes...Mr. Elridge.”

“And he is an Earl now?” She seemed enthralled by the concept, her dessert forgotten while she poured herself another glass of wine. “From a _Lady_ Earl? What a novel concept. And this Lady, this noblewoman. She wears gowns?”

“Oh no,” the Omega smiled, “She dresses much like you, Captain. Though her hair is cut short...like a man's. Not like yours...” She wanted to express how lovely the Alpha's long hair was, held up from her shoulders in a tumbling bun that betrayed her lack of a ladies maid. The auburn color was exquisite and the shine that it held forced a deep longing nostalgia in her mind for her own lost tresses of blonde.

“Ah, I would never cut off this mop! I swear it's the only way that these salts would ever know I was the Captain of _Apollo_. They've known plenty of woman Captains but none with a mane like mine.” She passed Victoria a flirting wink and grinned.

Flushing and fully relaxed, the Omega laughed. “Sailors are such odd creatures, I do think. I have spent much time with my ladies maid, Anne. She taught me quite a few tricks with hair. Perhaps you would allow me to...?”

“Ehn?” The Alpha drew upward and dipped her chin to stare down with curiosity in her sharp gaze. “You want to _coif_ my hair?” Her laugh was sharp but tapered into a pleasant sound. “You are serious?”

“Of course I am.” She wanted to slap herself for having ever suggested the notion. The Captain was a rough and tumble seafaring woman. She could not have the time nor interest in having her hair done up in braids or elaborate coiffures. Even the suggestion of a simple milkmaid's braid would have perhaps sent her into the same sort of incredulous amusement.

“Well then, how about it?” Neverell blurted. Her eyes were alight with a strange excitement and she set down her glass, standing up and looking about herself. “I say. I haven't had my hair done in a good many years. I hope there could be some pins in this damn cabin.” She moved to the armoire and opened it while Victoria marveled at her. She rifled through to the bottom and tossed out a small teak box which she threw unceremoniously to the carpet. “My brush is beside the bed, do you require much else?”

Baffled, Victoria stuttered out her no and moved to stand.

“Ah, I'll not treat you like you're some maid, you can sit on the edge of the bed and I'll sit on the floor,” Neverell explained. “I would not like for you to be uncomfortable. That is...if you are still willing.” She popped a brow, taking in the Omega's befuddlement.

“Oh yes...I was simply surprised by your...ardor.” She floated to the bed and retrieved the brush that sat on the bedside table, inspecting it before she sat down upon the edge of the berth.

The Alpha's cheeks were pink. “I apologize for seeming much too giddy but the truth is, Mr. Howe, and I trust you should keep this from my crew, I have much missed the attentions of a ladies maid as my valet is a hardy sailing man and knows nothing of the needs of a lady.”

She was almost alarmingly pleased by the confession and smiled with her nod, motioning for the Alpha to sit in front of her. When they were both settled, she carefully untied the ribbon from Neverell's hair and worked her long tresses from the bottom, brushing the tangles from them with care and sometimes a necessary fervor. She mentioned casually after having fought with a particularly stubborn knot, “The sea's wind has done you much wrong, my Lady.”

“I am not a Lady.”

She brushed a long, shining lock over her hand. “If you are the daughter of a nobleman then you are a Lady.”

“I am a Captain,” she quipped. “Not a Lady. And the sea's wind is what fills my sails. It cannot do me wrong.”

“Well,” she sighed, gripping another long bit of hair and brushing out the tangles, “It has certainly done wrong by your _hair_. I shall have the devil of a time with it if you do not keep it pinned in your coiffure when I am finished. That is, if you intend on having this done again.”

“Is this an offer?” The Captain's scent so close by to her shifted its intensity toward a warm contentment and Victoria was suddenly cast aloft into a sudden whipping daydream of a sun-warmed sandy beach with rippling salty waves licking at her ankles. That throaty Alpha tone tumbled her back into the Captain's quarters with that alluring comfort settled on the floor between her slender legs. “I would very much enjoy the pleasure of your company, Mr. Howe. If you are suggesting that you would be so generous as to coif my hair again.”

She wanted to protest the notion but it had been herself who had suggested it. It would not be prudent of her to encourage such behavior between herself and this perplexing and protective Alpha but, she noted wryly, it was not as though any of her new life was going to be tied dutifully to every facet of propriety imaginable. The true concern she held was in her eventual ability to wrest herself and her destiny away from the opinionated Captain.

“If you think you would not be teased unendingly by your crew for having my hands in your hair, Captain, then I should enjoy having repaid you for your kindness in delivering me unharmed upon the shores of Charleston in such a pleasing manner.” She swallowed and set down the brush beside herself, beginning to braid the exquisite auburn in her hands to the side in order to fashion one half of a milkmaid's crown. It was a simple style and it would keep all of her hair up and away from her face, managed tightly into pinned braids and manageable as she worked. From there, it was quick and over with much too quickly, every bit of hair secured. “Finished,” she concluded, brushing the back of her pointer finger over the light tendrils at the nape of the Captain's neck if only to feel their softness.

Neverell nearly shivered at the touch and then turned with her heavy-lidded eyes boring into the Omega. “Thank you, little one. I should say that this will at least keep my men from assuming I had taken liberties with you. I should say that it will be enough to stave off a mutiny should it have come to that end. No Omega who was displeased by me would have taken such care in my well-being.”

“Then you are to be both commended as well as teased?”

“Likely,” the Alpha replied with a grin. She stood and her fingers tentatively touched her braids before she inspected herself in the mirror next to the armoire. “You do lovely work, Mr. Howe.”

Victoria's already very pink cheeks grew warmer. “Thank you, Captain.”

Straightening, Neverell dipped her head and took a bite of one of the tarts, swallowing it before she tapped her cloth napkin to her lips. “Carlton should be in to clear the dishes. I should not stay. I have a feeling the crew will be trading speculations all evening should I leave them to their own devices.” She flashed Victoria an arrogant grin. “I will be certain to correct their inevitably erroneous assumptions as to your honor, Mr. Howe, and distract them with a song or two. Good night.”

“Good night, Captain,” she smiled.

When the door had clicked shut, she let herself fall backwards on the bed, cursing Neverell for having made good on her promise to have the sheets and quilts washed of her scent. She feared that without the Alpha's strong, placating scent, she might fall back into that odd, watery sickness that seemed to stem mostly from the jarring motion of the boat around her and the unsteady and untrustworthy ground beneath her feet.

She should have known that a woman Alpha would have been fundamentally different from the strutting and cocky Alphas she had come to understand were prevalent among the ton. She should have known that although the Captain could exude a definite authority and utilize that edgy tone with a hard control, she was, in the most inherent of ways, a woman still. She was a _compassionate_ woman. It was this that was the double-edged sword that Victoria would find herself falling upon, she knew. The undeniable allure of the beautiful Neverell was something she could never have foreseen and the manner by which she conducted herself was an obstacle that Victoria was going to grapple with madly.

A gentle knock came upon the door and she called out her greeting to find Carlton with his head tilted downward and his attention rapt upon the dishes he wanted to clear.

She sat up, demure. “Mr. Carlton, would you please relate to the chef that I was in no way dissatisfied by his fare tonight...it is merely a touch of...”

He gruffly interrupted her. “Yer seasick, lad. He knows. He's offered to dip you some broth and bread if you get a bit peckish later. Just ring the bell and someone will fetch me for ye if you'd like to request it.”

“Mr. Carlton...?” she asked and he looked up from where he'd gathered the dished on the table. “I apologize. For being such a nuisance.”

The Beta's mouth curved at the side and he sighed. “Nothing of it, wee one. Ye've made the crew a might more pleasant, y'ave. They haven't been cursing just in case ye might have had your pretty little ears pinking from it even though they know yer not about.” He laughed. “It's no trouble having ye, little thing. And I'm certain the Captain most definitely doesn't mind your pleasant scent in her quarters.”

She nodded, biting her lip.

“She's a fine Captain, Mr. Howe,” Carlton grunted. “And a fine woman, if you don't mind me saying.”

Victoria swallowed, her curiosity pricking. “And what care have you?”

The Beta blinked. “She is the daughter of a Duke, little Omega. And ye can't be anything but a frightened little fawn who's spent far too much time pursued in parlors. If ye wanted a way out of that life, little one, ye don't have to look far for an acceptable mate. I can only hope she hasn't offended you overly. She has a brash way about her but I promise ye, she is honorable and kind.”

“I have no need for a mate, Mr. Carlton,” she snipped.

He nodded, taking his eyes from her and picking up the heavy plates. “I see. Good night, Mr. Howe. Do not forget the bell if you require anything.”

She let herself fall back onto the counterpane and pulled off her boots, tossing them to the floor before she rolled toward the wall and curled into a tiny ball, her fingers unconsciously moving to the nape of her neck where she played with the snipped hair there. For all the nobility in Neverell's speech, Victoria would never have guessed that she would have been a Duke's daughter. It mattered not. Noble as the Alpha's blood may have been, Victoria was uninterested in a life on the sea and uninterested in an existence that was bound by any ruling spouse.

For all that, she was furious with herself for entertaining the fantasy of Neverell's bond. Next to Lord Swophill, the gorgeous Captain's scent was near heavenly, her face like that of an angel, and her honor unquestionable. With an Alpha like that by her side, she could step back onto the soil of England without fear.

 _The daughter of a Duke_.

She gracelessly pulled the quilts and sheets over her curled form and tried to conjure the dream of Neverell's aroma. A warm beach. Pleasant dry sand. Frothy waves. _Auburn hair_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yap yap yap, doing hair, what else do ladies do at slumber parties?


	4. Chapter 4

She hadn't been expecting a storm but with the tempests as they were this time of year, she wasn't surprised they had run into one. It was a fair bit of nasty weather but it would be over with soon if they could manage to clip straight through the whitecaps and use the wind to their advantage. Unlike some ships, clippers were made to hoist storm sails and keep plowing forward even as the water broke over the gunwales, driving through the crests of the waves until they had broken through the surge to the other side and hopefully were no worse for the venture. Her crew was a set of experienced men and with Malto at the helm, she was under no stress for their course as he was a stubborn and wise helmsman with many years of heavy sailing under his belt. She barked orders to the men in the rigging as they positioned the full-bellied sheets and drove on toward the driving rain.

The braids and pins in her hair had been something of a novelty for her men and they had chided her openly about them after she'd retired to the forecastle but in the vicious and dire gale from a storm, it was nothing short of a blessing to be had. The ship yawed and pitched while Malto held the wheel, using his Alpha strength to keep them upright while Ash picked up the ropes with her men and helped to position the sails and rigging for what was needed. As visibility decreased with the heavy rains, she could only hope that there were no other ships in the water around them so that Malto would have enough sea room to maneuver. A collision, though normally rare, was always in the back of her mind. With the speed of her boat, it was nearly impossible to avoid something that loomed from the rain and anything they hit would spell death in the deep.

 _Apollo_ careened through the swells, jerking and falling and crashing through as though jumping from wave to wave at her usual speed while the wind whipped around her and filled her sails, testing the strength of her rigging and masts. Undaunted, the clipper flew.

A rogue wave crashed over the side of the schooner and pushed against Ash's shins with an incredible force but she was not to be moved, nor were any of her men. She barked out more orders and a hearty and loud compliment to Malto for his helmsmanship.

With the good work of her men, they were through the surge in a matter of hours and as the ship rolled on over the tips of the waves and the rain spat out of the lightening sky, Ash managed to breathe easy again, pushing back the hood of her canvas and taking stock of anything that might have gone awry during the thick of it. Carlton approached her, his mild Beta scent marked with a worry that was inordinate considering the pleasant look of the sea ahead.

She frowned. “What is it, man?”

His voice was low. “Yer cargo, Captain. He's not been on a ship before as ye recall and...the waters have not agreed with him. I fear the storm has sent him into a fit.”

“A fit?” She felt her hackles raise as she scented the sticky aroma of distress that clung to the Beta's wet clothes.

“Aye. He's too proud to admit it, Captain, but he's in a bad way and it's the kind of sick only an Alpha can help 'im through.”

“ _Blast!_ ” she snarled. “Damn Omegas! To the devil with _heats!_ ” Ash was nose to nose with Carlton, her tone distinctively _Alpha_. “If a single man dares come close to the cabin door, I'll personally let the cat out of the bag to strip the flesh off his back, do you ken, Mr. Carlton?”

“I ken, Captain,” he replied with a serious nod.

Without another word, she flung the hatch open to the companionway and stormed below deck, stripping off her dripping canvas and taking several breaths to compose herself. The scent of an angered or frustrated Alpha was most definitely not what could soothe a stress heat and though it would naught be more than perhaps twenty-four hours of a chore, it would be a mighty one and she would be damned if it was going to reduce the lovely Mr. Howe into a heap of nerves. She knocked upon the door and, when she received no reply that she could discern, she opened the door anyway, easing it open only a few inches, the intensity of that musky sweet heat scent enough to make the Alpha's eyes water while her body tightened.

“Mr. Howe?”

“I would rather not be bothered.” The response was breathy and unsteady.

Ash swallowed the sudden excess of saliva that had built up in her mouth and fought the urge to shiver as she eased her way fully into the room and shut the door behind her, locking it against interruption from any of the crew. Not that a lock on a door would stop a rutting Alpha. Her breaths began to come in short bursts while she inhaled that irresistible fragrance of heated Omega, the scent bringing to the fore every urge that had been latent within her to _breed_. She kept her voice even despite the straining she felt underneath it.

“I'm afraid,” she said, addressing the tiny curled lump that was hidden underneath the counterpane, “that should I leave you alone, you may have the entire crew clambering to get through the door.” Moving to the armoire, she dug out one of her old shirts and began to rip it into strips, the sound forcing the anxious Howe to peer out from beneath the blankets with those wide, watery eyes.

“What...what are you doing?”

“I'm certain you've gone into heat before, dove.”

His voice was high-pitched and uniquely feminine when he bolted upright in the bed, holding the covers up as a shield. “No! No, you can't. Please! I cannot be tied down. I promise you that I will not thrash, please!”

Ash sighed, a gentle ache beginning in her heart. “Little dove,” she murmured, “You cannot make that promise. I will stay here and keep watch for you but I have no doubt that my scent will drive you mad before it soothes you.”

Nervous tears escaped the Omega's doe eyes and he trembled violently where he sat, his short hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. “Please, Alpha. Please don't.” His frantic voice was reduced to a shuddering whisper. “I beg of you.”

Ash tested the strips she'd made and approached the bed where Howe cowered under the counterpane, dressed still in his shirt and trousers. “Do you wish to be naked, little one? Your clothes will come to irritate you.”

“ _Please,_ ” he begged. “I implore you, don't do this.”

“Then you wish to stay dressed? You will regret that decision.” So close to him, his scent was settling a heavy fog into her brain and she shook her head to dispel it while she reached for him.

“ _No!_ ” Howe tried to keep his wrists from her grasp but his impotent flailing was ineffective. She bound his right wrist to the headboard first, the fingers of his left hand balling into the damp fabric of her shirt as he pushed and fought her. “Please, _Alpha!_ ” The pleading tone made her teeth grit and that heavy emotion prod at her chest. The bindings did not hurt him but the distress in him was evident. She bound his other wrist and straightened while he struggled against the strips of linen that held him fast.

Pulling the bell cord, she unlocked the door and when Carlton arrived, she instructed him to deliver rain-soaked compresses and a pitcher of water. While awaiting his return, she turned one of the heavy chairs to face the bed and sat down heavily, letting out a beleaguered breath while she studied the bound Omega. She kept her voice calm and quiet.

“Tis for but twenty-four hours, dove. You will be no worse for it, I assure you.”

He had caught her scent while she was binding him and his eyes were no longer clear and blue but a faded glaze over blackened voids. His breath was rasping and shallow in quick bursts and at her words he gave a hard, effeminate moan that called out to the Alpha within her. A wordless plea for help that she worked to ignore. He writhed against his bonds and his sudden musky arousal was nearly overwhelming, the scent of his slick intoxicating and inviting.

Her trousers were much too tight and her groin ached as blood rushed through her, swelling her length into a horrible and uncomfortable state. She got up, unable to sit any longer and moved to the door, swinging it open with force just as Carlton had arrived. She snatched the compresses and pitcher from his hands and slammed the door in his face. Turning on her heel, she went directly to the bedside table, setting down her burden and peeling one cold compress from the stack she'd been handed, laying it upon the panting Omega's forehead.

_Damn this little coquette. Damn them all for their heats._

It was the last thing she needed to be taking care of a little _vamp_ in her quarters while her men speculated and sniffed at the cracks in the walls for any hint as to that cloying scent. It was for everyone's benefit that Howe was kept tied down to prevent his desperate wanderings in search of an Alpha to sate him. It was anyone's guess what might happen to him if he managed to somehow make his way to the forecastle. She shuddered to think of the way a herd of some sixteen or so Alphas might treat him if they were to get their dirty, lusty paws on him. There was always talk on the docks, hushed whispers of the horrible fates of Shanghaied Omegas who were tossed to the wolves, in heat or otherwise. She could not imagine the horrific torture they must face at the hands of unscrupulous sailors. It would _not_ happen to her cargo and she would flay any man who dared make the attempt to defy her. Howe would remain tied.

He was writhing and pulling hard against the linens, his hips pressing back into the mattress while he spread his legs and tented the quilts. “ _Ah-Alpha_...” he gasped, his eyes mad with lust. “Help me.”

“Do you wish for another compress, little one?” she asked, clearing her throat to dispel the huskiness she could hear in her voice. It would not leave. “Perhaps a drink?” She poured a glass of water, frustrated by her shaking hands.

A sharp groan escaped the little Omega while his back bowed hard and he tossed his head, his chest heaving. “Help me, Alpha! It hurts! Please!” His words became jumbled and lost within a smattering of desperate, high pitched gasps and cries. When Ash approached, her scent sent his eyes rolling back while he fought against his bonds to be nearer to her.

Feeling inordinately cruel for merely being present, Ash set the glass she held back down on the table beside her and retreated to the chair again, watching the mindless Omega from a safe distance. Every inch of her body was tingling and every section of her brain was _screaming_ at her to do _something_ to help this poor creature before her. Her mind betrayed her, whispering into her inner ear that it would be so simple. It would most likely not even bear a pup. It was a mere stress heat. No one would have to find out. The Omega's innate sense of mortification would prevent him from ever admitting that his virginity had been taken by a lowly schooner captain.

“ _Uhhhhnnnn!_ ”

She snapped out of her thoughts and buried her face in her hands, cursing herself. Her long fingers just brushed the damp braids that Howe had created as a crown on her head and it was almost beyond her that the lusty, writhing creature on the bed was one and the same with the quiet, composed, and demure Mr. Howe that had dined with her. That such a transformation was possible for the sweet little beings that were Omegas was baffling to her still, even after she had witnessed it firsthand.

“ _Alpha. Alpha. Alpha..._ ” Howe panted, kicking out his legs under the blankets in frustration.

She pulled the chair forward toward the edge of the bed and could have died for the hopeful expression in Howe's eyes. She gingerly bent forward and flipped the compress on his forehead over, hearing him hiss in satisfaction from the cold. She reached out to the side and peeled another from the stack. Throwing propriety out the window, she unfastened a few of the buttons on Howe's shirt and carefully moved to slip the compress over his chest.

She sat back, her hands suddenly limp in her lap.

_Well._

It was the only word that would come to her blank mind. It explained a few curiosities, that was for certain. _Mister_ Howe, indeed! Ash had to commend the little lady on her nearly flawless execution of a disguise but no matter how small her breasts might have been, there was no mistaking that gentle swell. The Omega was well past recognizing that she'd been discovered, her hooded and glazed eyes unseeing while she panted and weakly pulled against the linen strips around her wrists so Ash leaned forward again and positioned the compress a small bit higher, fastening the lower buttons on her shirt for the sake of her modesty.

It would be easier for all parties if she were to forget that she had ever made the discovery and most importantly, it would be easiest for _Mr._ Howe. She wanted to be annoyed that the Omega had lied to her, but her own past had been filled with deception to fulfill her own destiny. What sort of a woman would she be if she did not recognize that an escape from a hideous set of circumstances sometimes required desperate measures?

_It is no wonder that the poor dear wanted to brush and braid my hair._

She let her fingers stray to the wet strands that spiked out from behind the Omega's ear, brushing them slightly. The little one would have had to cut off what had likely been a mane of beautiful blonde. With a small chuckle, Ash shook her head.

_A foolish girl._

She tilted her head and smiled down at the panting and lost little maiden who was determined to pass as a man. That was fine, she thought. There would be no change. Howe did not have to know that Ash knew of her true gender. Comfort in her disguise was paramount to her flight's success. There was nothing the information could do but hurt her.

She sat back and rubbed at her face with her palms, taking in a strained but miraculously patient sigh. It would only get worse before it got better. For both of them. She had been trying to ignore the pain between her legs as best as she could but the urge to release herself was becoming overwhelming.

_It's unfair._

If the little miss couldn't take such measures, there was no sense in allowing herself that luxury. She should think herself the biggest hypocrite that ever sailed to allow for her own relief when she had tied down the pretty Omega that begged for her knot. The longing was only right, only _just_ , if it was mutual.

Still, her groin ached and throbbed and she had to grit her teeth, setting her mind against the hazy pall that had come over her. Seeking hard control over her own body, she turned her mind to the first time she had come into a rut. She had been seventeen. Still in skirts, swishing about like a pretty miss and charming the Alphas as the Beta her mother had raised her to be. Her presentation had been less than convenient.

Lord Haberdeen would have married her had she remained a Beta. She would have been a Countess. She would have been able to keep her mother from worry. She wouldn't have been seen as such a damned burden on them. She wouldn't have had to run to Bristol in the middle of the night with a cloak about her head, searching for a boarding master who could put her on the fastest ship that could sail on the open sea. When she had finally found one and he had set her up with a hard-line American Captain, she had been expecting freedom.

She chuckled to herself, drowning out the pants and moans from the bed with her memories.

The first years she had spent on the sea had been hell but she had learned plenty and picked up more and more as the time had gone by. Before long, she was a young but capable first mate and preferred to serve under female Captains if she could manage it. Scrounging up enough capital for _Apollo_ had been her dream from the beginning and she managed it with only just a small loan from her father that he had insisted was a gift. She had paid him back with interest in but a few years after she had picked up the opium trade, paid handsomely for the trips and for the cargo that she had brought in return. That was, those things she had not kept for herself.

She glanced up where the Omega lay, panting but stilled, exhausted by her fight. She was leaking all over Ash's expensive silk sheets she had purchased while on a visit to the Orient. With a heavy sigh, she picked up the glass of water on the bedside table and leaned forward again, lifting Howe's head and pressing the rim of the glass to her lip, urging her to drink. She took a few sips and then a few gulps, rivulets of water escaping the corners of her mouth and running over her jaw to the sides of her neck. Just where Ash wanted to bury her face to take in the full weight of that heady aroma.

She sighed again when she leaned back and set the glass down, swapping out the compress on Howe's forehead for another cold one. Her voice was low, husky, and drowned in lust.

“It's alright, little one. You're going to be fine.”

She had been referencing the heat but for a few moments, she could only recall her original fear of a privateer. How far could she go to protect the little miss from any forces that were coming from England to retrieve her?

Wearied from her fight, the Omega fell into a fitful slumber and Ash took the opportunity to lean forward and dip her wrist under the debutante's nose, allowing her to take in long, sleepy lungfuls of Alpha scent, the shivers and trembles that rocked her becoming less and less the longer she held it there. When she was fully calm, Ash pulled her arm back to her side and stood, wandering to the basin where she poured some of the water from the ewer, splashing it over her face and rubbing the chill down over her neck.

She snoozed fitfully, sitting up in the chair, her arms crossed her her breasts and that deep ache throbbing through her whole body. She woke fully only a few hours later when her ears picked up a soft whimper and she found Howe's half-lidded eyes pleading and hurt.

“Captain...”

“It's alright, dove,” she cooed, gently brushing back Howe's wet hair from her forehead.

“You can't...” the Omega trailed off, swallowing. She drank eagerly when offered the water and pulled helplessly against the linen straps that held her. “You can't,” she repeated a little louder, her throat wet.

“I can't?” Ash asked, smiling.

“You...can't...be here.”

“Sweet thing,” she chuckled, “I've been here the whole time.”

Her brows shifted downward and her glazed eyes narrowed. “H-How?”

“I am not some sort of nightmarish beast. I am fully in control of all of my faculties, Omega. Simply because instinct drives me to ravish you does not mean I must give to it. It is not impossible to fight the urge with enough will.” She tilted her head at the soft, pliant, and very wet little male impersonator. “I should ask you again if you wish to be nude, little one.”

“No!” She pulled hard against the bindings, panic in her eyes.

“Calm yourself,” the Alpha crooned, “I would not force you. You may keep whatever modesty you wish.” She grinned, hoping that the expression would not give away that she had already discovered the deception. “How are you feeling?”

“There is...there is pain...” The complacent sorrow in her voice gnawed at Ash's gut.

“Allow me to distract you,” Ash stated, setting the heels of her boots upon the bed next to Howe's leg, stretching her body out while she sat back. “Perhaps a tale of some kind?”

The blonde's concerned brow softened only a little and her pink lips parted. “A tale? A sailing story?”

“Perhaps,” Ash smiled, “A ghost story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized last night that I don't actually have many planned cliffhangers. Ehn. You know. Whatever.
> 
> Thank you for reading, everyone. I've seen a lot of lurkers showing up. I hope everyone is enjoying my first F/F. I'm kinda breaking out of the A/B/O norm here (although I do see a lot of F/F with _The 100_ and _Supergirl_ so it can't be that rare).


	5. Chapter 5

Victoria had heard many ghost stories during Christmases at Hempfield Hall and she had not believed in such silly things as ghosts. Surely if there had been such a thing, she would have seen one wandering the halls of the estate, the building being so terribly old and all that. Her mouldering ancestors would most definitely have been creeping around the airy corridors, she thought. But sailors, she knew, were a superstitious lot and it was unsurprising that the captain should have been taken by the fanciful notion that there could have been something so unsubstantiated as ghosts.

She felt the sway of the ship around her and she was shocked to feel calmed by it. Her tremors seemed to be gone but the bone-deep ache within her remained. The urgency to be touched was missing but the tingling in her flesh was her constant companion. Her cheeks warmed when she recalled how she had wantonly writhed and begged for the Captain to help her. It had been the first time she had experienced an Alpha's scent while in heat and she was thoroughly mortified by her own behavior. Even moreso when the Captain had admitted that she had been present the entire duration of the display. How Victoria could have lost her sense so quickly and so profoundly and yet the Alpha remained stoic ate at her sensibilities. She needed to learn such will! Such control! The whole of her life she had been convinced that Alphas in rut were feral animals who could not be contained, ripping doors from their hinges and limbs from their rivals for a taste of their sweet heated Omegas. As Neverell had just proven, this was clearly not the case and it was perhaps her presence throughout the first few hours that had been able to calm the fire in Victoria's blood.

Weary and trapped, she had no choice but to submit fully.

“Very well,” she breathed. “I will listen to your ghost story. Despite that there are no such things as ghosts.”

Neverell laughed, a sound clear and ringing as a church bell. It put a swell in Victoria's heart that she hadn't been expecting and the tingles over her whole body increased, a rush of slick slipping out from between her legs to soak her already sopping trousers and the sheets beneath her.

“Such a haughty thing to say from such a young thing! How are you to know if a ghost exists or not if you have no experience with them?”

“Surely more places in England ought to be haunted,” she explained, her cheeks hot from more than just her heat.

“So sure, you are!” The Captain laughed again. “Well I will tell you a ghost story anyhow and you may enjoy it simply for the act of telling.”

“Alright then,” she agreed, frowning.

There was a glint in Neverell's eye. “There was a clipper from Baltimore called _Fair Seas_ and a man aboard by the name of Traskell. I met him in a tavern near the docks of Port Royal and he had just ended his route with the badly damaged vessel. The ship had weathered a storm and the man was as tattered as a seaman can be after such a horrible experience.”

Victoria sighed, commiserating with the poor man in the story.

The Captain continued, a crooked smile over her mouth. “All the hands had been on the deck of _Fair Seas_ and they'd been doing a decent job with the rigging but as clippers often run themselves close to the water, they'd been hit with some horrible waves that came over the side of the gunwales and threatened to push her over. She was battered hard and lightning was flashing from hideous black and green clouds and Traskell heard the crash of another wave just as he had shifted his weight. It took him, the strength of it sweeping him like some lost doll over the deck until he'd caught himself on the edge as _Fair Seas_ pitched, his feet dangling where the water drained from the scuppers.” She paused, leaning back.

Unwittingly, Victoria found herself with her mouth parted, her eyes wide, and her focus trained on every word.

“With his boots in the water, Traskell prayed for his life. He screamed out for either God or the Devil to save him. When he opened his eyes again, he nearly lost his grip. He could not fathom what he saw as the storm raged around a _ship_ that crashed above the waves through the air. Terror consumed him for he knew who his savior was: a Captain with a black ship and blood red sails who rode upon storms and collected the souls of those lost to the cold waters. As he and the others looked on with horror, _The_ _Flying Dutchman_ bore down toward them, the black squall behind her.” Neverell took in a hard breath. “Just as they thought she would crash into _Fair Seas_ and they should be lost forever, the glowing black ship _vanished_ as if she had never existed at all and just as she was fully gone, the wind fell and died, the black clouds eaten up by a clear sky.”

“No...” Victoria whispered, unbelieving.

Neverell nodded severely. “The man I met in the tavern was a soul who had looked death in the eyes. A man who had held the edge of a ship in his cold hands and been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.”

She let the images catch in her mind's eye and rolled over them while she stared openly at the Captain. The story had well and truly caught her imagination and in her muddy thoughts, she let it run wild, the thought of a massive black ship able to sail upon storm clouds a majestic and frightening prospect indeed.

Victoria licked her lips. “He cannot have seen such. He must have been mad!”

“Perhaps he was,” the Alpha nodded.

“Have you seen _The Flying Dutchman_?” she asked, her belly fluttering in anticipation for the response.

With a grin she replied, “No. Not me. But Malto, my helmsman. He's seen the dreaded ship. He claimed to me it was the only time he'd ever had a clipper in irons when the wind shifted to flatten his sails.” She raised her brows dramatically. “Says he saw the Devil at her helm.”

“Ah!” Victoria smiled, laughing a little. “That is what you meant when you claimed that the Devil sails!”

Neverell chuckled with her, her smile warm and her musky scent contented. “There are a number of aspects of sailing that could support my claim, dove, and not only Traskell's tale. The Devil rules the seas, you know. God has no sort of claim over a place where his followers cannot be found.”

“You are not Christians?” she frowned.

“There are no priests to give you blessings as you drown, little one.” She winked and crossed her arms again, her voice smoothing into a pleasant and lilting song. It was merely one verse and a chorus with a tempo that seemed fit well for rowdy sailors. The subject was a place Victoria had never before heard.

She peered up at the Captain with open curiosity.

“Can't make it to heaven if you don't know how to get there,” Neverell noted. “But every good salt can make it where the fiddlers play.”

“Well it sounds lovely,” she mused with a sigh, irritated at the way the wet fabric of her shirt rasped over her sensitive flesh. Especially the peaks of her tender breasts. The idea of allowing the Captain to undress her flitted into her mind but her need to remain hidden within her disguise was essential. She would have to bear it unless she could be unbound. She looked upward awkwardly at her bindings. “Captain?”

“Yes, little dove?”

“I am...I am quite uncomfortable.”

“Does it hurt?”

“I should like a bath...but I...I do not wish for you to see me...”

The Alpha quirked a brow and the side of her mouth. “You have but a few hours left. It shall come in waves if it is anything like a normal heat. My scent should lower their intensity but you are in the trough, sweeting. You will do naught but ruin another set of sheets and dirty yourself again in but a few hours.”

She moped where she lay, her emotions rippling. “I know not how you do it, Alpha. It is like I go mad and I cannot control myself and you...you have been in this small cabin with me and have not even cared to touch me! Am I...am I somehow...abhorrent to you?”

“Good God,” Neverell blurted, “Do not for a moment entertain that hideous thought. You and your scent are beyond compare. I have never in my life smelled a fragrance as alluring as you.” She laughed. “You are...you are wildflowers and a sea of green. You are a weathered saddle, my favorite boots, and the wind as it ripples through a wild meadow.”

She felt another trickle of slick escape her and a warmth rush over her body. “I had not heard that you were prone to poetry, Captain.”

“What can I say?” the Alpha shrugged. “You are a small and beautiful muse.”

She felt a tremble come over her and she closed her eyes, frowning against it. The tall and stately Alpha had claimed that it was possible to beat the urges that came over her but being an Omega _must_ have been different, she thought. The words from Neverell's lips had incited something within her and as her heart swelled, her heat rose and she felt that distinct and familiar throb between her legs worsen while steady shivers of need began to well up from the darkness.

_A Duke's daughter._

She opened her eyes again, staring at Neverell without knowing what she wanted.

“Hold on, little one. I know,” she said in a calm but authoritative voice that was soothing and low. The Alpha pulled up the sleeve of her shirt and held her wrist just an inch from Victoria's nose, allowing her to take in deep scenting pulls.

_A warm and calm beach with sea oats swaying in the ocean breeze. Wind rippling through her hair while her bare feet sank into sun-warmed sand. The taste of salt in the air, the shush of the Atlantic's waves over the shore and the thunder of the breakers further off._

She felt hideously _empty_ somehow, aching for some kind of fulfillment that she didn't quite understand. It was the way the rest of the hours would pass in an endless cycle. A welling up and a breaking down that felt so damnably familiar and so achingly preventable. Through all the want and water, she had but one solace.

_At least she is here with me. At least she is mine._

* * *

Stepping onto the solid ground of the docks at Charleston was supposed to be something of a relief but as she did so, she couldn't help but grasp out and hold tight to Carlton's arm that was offered to her quite graciously. The solidity of the world around her was almost _new_ and she wondered at how such a thing had possibly come to be when it was only her whole life that she had spent on land and merely a short part of it trapped upon that blasted _clipper._

She stared down at her feet in her boots and frown at them, wondering how long it was going to take her to get used to walking on dry land again. If nothing else, she was simply glad to have finally gotten to the point in her journey where she could hope to start the process of forgetting how hideously wanton she had been during the unfortunate _mishap_ that was her stress heat. She had not been untied until her scent had almost fully faded. _Almost,_ because it was impossible for the scent of her slick to have entirely faded, as she was sodden with it until the captain left her alone so that she might soak in the bath that was brought in for her use. Her cheeks flamed with the memory of having to peel the soaking fabric from her thighs, piling all of her clothes into the corner so that she might sink into the steaming water and forget about how much of a shameless tart she had been.

Once she had been entirely dressed again, put together the way she was certain was the most proper that she could be, she dumped her clothes into the still-hot water to dilute the scent of overt arousal that would certainly rouse the crew if they were to catch wind of it. Carlton washed her clothes and returned them neatly folded, again assuring her that it was no trouble at all to do so.

For the rest of the journey, it was not spoken of but the Captain's warm and content presence put something more than just giddiness in her stomach when she shared her evening meal and quietly brushed her hair. She thrilled at the touch of Neverell's hair on her fingers, running her hands through those soft tresses and braiding them with every ounce of adoration she possessed. When she brushed her fingers over the Alpha's scalp and was rewarded with a gentle backwards pressure, she could have cried with the pleasure of it. She knew. She knew! There was an unspoken tension between them and _that_ was _dangerous._

The Captain had spoken of the kinds of danger that were present in the west and on the docks but she had not mentioned—no one ever had!—the dangers that had lain in wait in the corners of Victoria's own heart.

She heard Neverell say something to her as she came up behind from the gangway and brushed her shoulder.

“I'm sorry?” she mumbled, lost in those darling amber eyes.

“I was asking if you were ready to meet the Mastersons. It is but one o'clock and the men have their orders. With Carlton here, they should not need me. I am free to accompany you wherever you wish to go.”

She swallowed. “I beg your pardon, Captain, but you do not have any obligation to me beyond this point...”

“And I have already informed you, Omega, that I am not content to allow you to wander off into the wilderness unsupported. You will accept my help.” She raised a brow, as if threatening to put that hard edge into her voice that would force Victoria's compliance.

_Drat._

The Alpha took her hand and put it on her sleeve, taking her from Carlton and walking with her to a carriage that she hired to take them through the city. Despite her wish to become more independent, she found herself tight next to Neverell, sitting in the carriage and cursing how disturbingly hot the weather had become and how heavy the air felt. The unfamiliar city was strange and foreign to her. Nothing like London at all. The bizarre and spiced scents of all kinds of Alphas and Omegas wafted through the humid air and she was in small ways frightened of the way that strangers seemed to interact with each other. For a fleeting moment, a small dark-skinned Omega caught her eyes as they drove past and she felt her anxiety flare and bloom, her body drawing up and a tight lump forming in her throat. Her gloved fingers grasped Neverell's sleeve and she turned her face toward the Alpha's shoulder.

“What is it, little dove?” the Captain asked, her scent immediately altering toward concern.

“I do not know!” she confessed, feeling hard tears in her eyes.

Neverell comforted her, keeping her close until the carriage stopped and she helped her disembark before a large manor that was somewhat removed from the city proper. It was large and stone with tall, carved columns rising around a curved veranda, supporting a regal balcony lined with a gilded balustrade that glittered in hot afternoon sun. This was what she was used to. This flagrant boast of wealth among rabble somehow calmed her wildly frayed nerves.

They were met by a friendly young manservant, a Beta, who helped Victoria from her jacket before leading the two of them to a parlor where they waited only a minute before a charming-looking elderly Alpha strode into the room with a brush-like mustache and crinkles about his smiling eyes. Despite his smile and his fatherly presentation, Victoria was not quite sure if she liked him. He was too different. Too foreign. There was something about him that was very... _traditional._ She knew very little about the current state of affairs in America but from what little she had managed to glean from parlor conversations and the small snippets she could read in the papers, the country was in a state of severe tension and there were many factors involved. Factors she wasn't sure she even wanted to begin to understand in depth.

“Masterson,” Neverell grinned, putting out her hand and being greeted warmly.

“Captain,” was the gruff reply. “We knew we would see you again soon but we weren't certain of the day. You're in luck. If you're searching for a fine party, you've come on just the day. My youngest son has presented just last month. We are celebrating him tonight. You must join us. If you're looking for a crewman, though, you'll be disappointed.” He laughed from his belly and turned his eyes to Victoria. “And who've you brought with you? A slight little thing, aren't you? Just a slip, I say!”

She felt her shoulders tighten upwards.

Neverell replied, “This is Mr. Victor Howe. Just crossed with my ship. He was in search of a fast journey and it is here he has been set. He's looking for a guide into the west, if you can believe it. What say you, Masterson? Thoughts?”

Masterson's laugh was hard and then clipped short suddenly. “You're not serious.” At the expression Neverell gave him, he turned his gaze back to Victoria. “You're _tiny_ , Omega. Though, if you are untethered, I am not one to stop you.”

Her heart leaped.

“You are in search of a guide then. Well, that should not be so difficult to arrange.” He fingered his own lapel. “I have some contacts with some banks in the far-reaches. I've sent some men to search out for some important minerals that could be laying in wait for my hand to scoop them up and I hear from them by wire.” He nodded. “If you're sure, little Omega, you may have a guide and we will simply have my men pay him when you are delivered safely to your destination. I am certain that I may spare one to meet you.” He smiled. “In such case, he will not suspect if you are harboring on your person a purse of some value. That is, if you are venturing alone.”

She cleared her throat and replied, “It is an unfortunate circumstance...but yes.”

“Is this what you have come to me for, Neverell? A guide for this small, fierce Omega?” He gave Victoria a wink and she felt herself flush. “I, being a man who solves problems, have never heard of such a simple thing brought to my doorstep. Surely there is more.”

“Oh, there is more,” the Captain stated, “but not that which I would bore my guest with. Are you hosting many for your ball?”

“Silly me.” Masterson waved his hand in the air. “Mr. Howe requires lodgings, does he not?” He moved casually to the decanter of brandy on a small sideboard and poured a glass, giving it to Victoria without a thought. She stared at it dumbly, having never been handed more than sherry in her life. “Of course. His things will be brought to the blue room. I hope it is acceptable to your tastes, Mr. Howe, although if you are intent to set out toward the west, I can assure you, it will be last opulence you experience for a long while.”

She at least had understood that. Her life would be stripped of all that was comfortable for a long while but she was prepared for such an ordeal. She had determined thus when she had made the decision to flee from Swophill's bite. She would rather sleep upon a hard ground for the rest of her days than be forced to bear pups for such a man. She nodded to Mr. Masterson and, with a slightly trembling hand, took a sip of her brandy, trying not to grimace overly when she swallowed.

A servant took her to a large room that boasted a tasteful blue and gray décor. She was to rest before being called down for supper, an event that she was calmed to know was going to be attended by the Captain as well. She chastised herself for being so horribly nervous and for wishing the Alpha's presence. It would not be long before she was without the tall and graceful woman and she was unnerved to find that she was not fond of the idea in the slightest. To never again scent the sea and the sand and the ocean wind?

Victoria sat on the edge of the bed while the tall, dark Beta maid worked to begin a fire in the hearth.

“Mr. Howe?” the Beta asked from where she knelt.

“Yes?”

She looked over her shoulder and cocked a brow. “I'm supposed to ask for permission before I speak to you candid-like, but you seem a mild little one, if you don't mind me saying.”

Victoria let her mouth curve. “You are permitted, if that is what you're looking for.”

She blew into the fireplace and when the flamed leaped upward, she stood, dusting the soot from her apron. “Betty Walker, Mr. Howe. I've been working for the Mastersons for a few years now and you're lucky to have found them. But even a Beta can scent the regret you're pouring out.” She turned fully. “There's no shame in changing your mind.”

She gently shook her head. “I cannot burden you with my tale of woe, Miss Walker. But I fear I shall never again step foot in England. I would...I would like to go back. But there is danger for me there and I know that it would seek me out.”

“Are you certain it hasn't followed you here?”

She felt her heart drop into her stomach and she swallowed nervously. “My hope is that if it has, I will be able to out-run it.” She lifted her eyes to the kind maid and licked her lips thoughtfully. “If not...then I suppose I shall run forever.”

“This question is out of line,” Miss Walker explained, striding over to the bed and standing before her, “But I'm going to ask it anyway. Is it a man, Mr. Howe?”

“An Alpha,” she nodded.

“Claimed you?”

“Intends to.”

Miss Walker smiled, her teeth brilliantly white. “Oh, Omega. All of you are so stubborn. Looking to go through your life without a mark on you, as if having a scar on your neck is the worst that could be done to you.” She crossed her arms, clearly tickled. “If I was you, Mr. Howe, I would find a good, honest Alpha, and pay him to mark me. If you've already got a bondmark, who will touch you elsewise? You could stay free your whole life if that's what you wanted.”

She frowned, puzzling. “I daresay that's...that's an outrageous suggestion. Although...it could work if a good and honest Alpha would ever deign to be paid for a mark.”

Miss Walker laughed. “I suppose you're right. It might be difficult to let an Alpha lay a mark on you without a claim to you, after all. I suppose the promise of love somewhere or some-when might give me pause if I were an Omega.” She shrugged. “But I'm not. And what is love anyway?”

_The ocean wind._

She blinked, stammering. “Y-yes. I suh-suppose you're right. Wuh-what is l-love? Hah. Scents and...and all that. Perhaps it is only you lucky Betas who are able to understand the notion.”

“Nobody understands love, Mr. Howe. Not a soul upon this Earth and don't you forget it. Now, you rest up. I will fetch you when it is time for dinner if there is nothing I can get for you right now.”

She stripped to her shirt and trousers and lay under the covers of the bed, staring up at the brocade above her. Thoughts swirled through her head with old and new concerns mixing and rambling over her consciousness. There could be no rest. No sleep. There was too much that could keep her awake. Mostly, it was Neverell that occupied her thoughts. A good, honest Alpha. An Alpha who stayed with her throughout her heat in a small cabin, able to nearly entirely overcome every urge of a rut. Even when her eyes had been nothing but thin amber rings around empty black pits of lust, she had kept her humanity and had even had the wherewithal to tell her a ghost story.

Victoria felt her cheeks heat and a sorrowful smile pull at her heart. A hard ache filled her heart.

_A good, honest Alpha._

She had thought, somewhere in the back of her mind, that such a thing could exist but she had never expected to meet one so soon. It would have been easier if she had not been so kind. If she had somehow been more brusque, more strained, more tight with her affections. It had been so comforting to have the protection of an Alpha. A particular Alpha. Neverell.

Her mind continued to tumble, over and over, breakers crashing over each other toward the shore. One specific thought seemed to float to the top no matter what she did to quash it down and hide it where she didn't have to look at it, acknowledge it. It turned up consistently, a bloated corpse in the water.

_Are you certain it has not followed you here?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to SarcasticSarah who's gone missing once again. (We're gonna have to put this girl on the side of a milk carton, obviously.)


	6. Chapter 6

Albert Masterson swirled his brandy in his tumbler and sat, taking up far too much space as was usual for most Alphas and especially in their own homes. Ash leaned on the windowsill and waited for the words that she knew were coming.

“Alright. Tell me what you want me to do for you, Neverell. I do happen to still owe you for saving my son's life all those years ago and if you've come up with a decent and worthwhile pursuit, I'd be glad to get that debt out from under my nose. Finding a guide for an Omega out west is hardly—”

“Damn the guide,” she interrupted. “There will be no guide. I will not be allowing Mr. Howe to put himself in such danger.” She gave Masterson a hard stare. “I want you to forget the guide. I want you to tell him that it has all fallen apart. That there is no man to take him. That the guide you hired was killed in some horrible fashion. That on his way to Charleston he was brutally murdered by wild Indians. Anything, Masterson. Tell him anything but do not tell him that you've arranged passage.”

“In love with him, are you?” The older Alpha smirked arrogantly and sipped his drink. “You've managed to find yourself absolutely bewitched.”

She felt herself warm at the prospect of being caught out. Her lips were tight.

The Alpha across from her leaned back where he sat and crossed his legs. “Oh, I know that denial too well, Neverell. You can't possibly be in love, you think. You're not sure what love is. Although,” he gave her a cocked brow. “You know what it feels to look at the sea and that must be close. It's a wild, untamed thing, love. Much like the ocean, you can't help but stare at him and wonder how far you'd go to own it. But you can't own the sea. You can't tame it. Its whims and nature will toss you if you do not learn to harness it. An Omega and the love for one is much the same. Turbulent. Reckless. Emotional. Stormy, at times. Calm and pleasurable in others.” He took another sip of his brandy. “You're in over your head, Neverell. How you ever got there is what's puzzling. A woman of your temperament? The fierce reign you have over yourself? It could only be a sweet, innocent little Omega who could slip through those cracks and Mr. Howe does seem to fit the bill.”

“He's running from something,” Ash blurted. “And I know not what.”

“That much is obvious,” Masterson agreed. “What else should make a slight little English debutante toss himself into the wind? But you lie to yourself when you say you know not what it is that has sent him into such a panic.”

She growled. “It is his betrothed.” She put her hand over her eyes and rubbed, her fingers smoothing over her brows in frustration.

“Indeed,” Masterson agreed. “And there is a plot against him. I've seen it myself here in Charleston. Families force their Omega children into a marriage by forcing a bondmark.” He cleared his throat. “They allow an Alpha access and let nature take its course. The hope is that the Alpha will be gentle...there is no guarantee.”

“It is barbaric,” she spat. “Unconscionable.”

“Agreed. Whomever is his betrothed has no claim to him. At least not one that will hold. Not until his mark is upon his neck, anyway.” He finished his brandy. “Have you offered yourself to him? Your mark?”

“No,” she groaned. “He would not accept even if I had. He is determined. What am I to tell him? That I may save him? Take him to sea with me? I cannot do such a thing to him. He has no fondness for the sea.” The words from her lips hurt her. The two of them were too different even as they had come from the same world.

“Give him your mark,” Masterson shrugged. “Do not offer more. You may still save him, if you truly wish to do so. You may make him undesirable. A marked Omega is one who has an unknown protector. They could risk an Alpha's ire if they were to touch him and he is free to go where he pleases. His betrothed would no longer pursue him, thinking he had been compromised by an Alpha below his station and will go prey upon someone else.” He looked down into his empty glass and then set it down on the side table. “Unless you cannot do such a thing. Unless you cannot live without him.”

She was silent for a time, staring at nothing and holding her brandy a little too tightly. “I cannot. I cannot mark him. I cannot know that there is an Omega... _m_ _y_ Omega...wandering lost in America without me by his side. You are right, Masterson. I'm bewitched. There is no hope for me. I will forever be plagued by this horror if I cannot have him.”

“Good lord,” the older Alpha snorted. “I've not known you to be prone to dramatics, Captain.”

She sighed. “How shall I go about it? I cannot kidnap him. I should be no better than the Alpha he runs from. I need you to tell him that a guide is impossible. That it is too dangerous. It must not come from me. It must come from someone else.”

“So that he will run into your arms?” Masterson scoffed. “And you will console him? Offer him yourself?”

“If it were to come to that, yes.”

“And what else do you offer him?” There was incredulity in his voice and Ash hated it. “Do you not think he should come to resent his position? Trapped upon your ship?”

“Curse you,” Ash mumbled as she stood, turning toward the window. “If all he seeks is independence then I shall buy a parcel of land and give it to him. A fine house. I shall pay for everything he should ever require. Everything he should ever want of me.”

“While you sail opium to the Orient, you will have an unfaithful Omega in your bed. You cannot expect him to wait for your return. His heats will not alter for your shipping schedule.”

“Then I shall hire naught but Betas! There will be but one Alpha aboard my ship and he shall be safe to roam freely over the deck and he shall sail with me.” She gulped at her brandy. “Curse you, Masterson. To the Devil with you!” Even as she had stated the suggestion, she knew that it was naught but a dream. It was difficult enough to find good men to sail, to find a crew of only Betas was nearly impossible. Aside, how could she have ever done without her loyal Malto? The man had been with her for years and had acted Captain in her stead for several trips _Apollo_ had taken without her.

“If you are to keep him from his destiny, Alpha,” Masterson warned, “You should be well prepared to take his fate in your own hands. If you are not certain of your course, you should not alter his.”

“The west is too dangerous for him! You cannot be so blind as to see that for yourself.”

“Oh yes, god forbid the poor boy see a prairie sunset in his life. He may be felled by some savage arrow but at least he will have seen the world. God forbid an Omega have a dream to be more than a brood mare for some rutting nobleman.”

She was shocked into silence.

Masterson did not let up. “He could die birthing pups, Neverell. He could die from the pox. He could drown in the harbor tangled in rope. And what will he have accomplished? If he wishes to have you, let him make such a decision alone. You fear for him running away from you but what you should fear more is his running _to_ you. If left with no options save your arms, he will come to recognize that you were a matter of necessity and will not love you. Not how you wish he would.”

Was love by free will somehow more or less than love forged by need? Ash wasn't sure but Masterson did make a passionate argument for the case. She would most definitely have preferred Howe to have come to her willingly. But how?

She sighed. “How? How do I go about it?”

The Alpha's expression was somehow satisfied. “Ah. Now _this_ is a question that presents a challenge. Much more than a request for a guide. And perhaps one that is not quite in my own arena of knowledge. Perhaps you should start by _romancing_ him.”

She curled her lip. “Romance? That is your answer? I am doomed.”

He laughed. “You have a perfect opportunity, Neverell. Ivan's presentation ball is tonight and your quarry will be there. Dance with him. Give him a gift. Take him on a stroll in the gardens. Consider your future. Consider that your father would be grateful to see you again and that he would likely take care of you and your very suitable debutante the way he would have if you had not fled to Bristol in your fanciful teenage fit of passion.”

“Again, Masterson,” she growled. “To the Devil with you.”

The true fact was that it was not so simple. She could romance the Omega as much as she wished but if Howe continued to believe that her gender was a secret, she would never allow herself to be taken in by any kind of overtures. She had to somehow reveal that she knew of the deception without also allowing the Omega to become panicked at the notion of having been discovered. Was it enough to preface a discussion with a plea for her not to become alarmed? Was it possible for Ash to assure the little debutante that she did not care about having been tricked and also, in effect, would not bother in a reveal? Could there be trust between them?

_Of course there could be. You spent a stress heat close enough to touch her and did nothing. She already knows your honor. She has witnessed it first hand._

And even still there was the matter of whomever was coming after her. There had to be someone. How long could it take them to find her? Dressed as she was, it could be months or even never if her servants had not been caught aiding her flight. It could be no time at all if they had been. There was no telling how long she could likely stall the little Omega from her journey and if Masterson was not willing to play the game, Ash could find that the time in which she had to work was quite short indeed.

“How long do I have before you find a guide?” she asked, brooding.

“I would say that it should be a week or so.”

“A week.” She sighed, hope dying in her heart. “A week to convince an Omega to fall in love with me.”

“Have you not had plenty of time on that blasted clipper of yours? If he is not besotted by you already, what hope could you have ever had?”

* * *

The dinner before the ball was small and, to her delight, she was placed next to Howe. It seemed as though the debutante had been quite nervous when she had first entered the dining room but once placed next to Ash, her jitters had all but fallen away. Perhaps, she thought, there was hope after all. Howe had been introduced to everyone and seemed also to be calmed by the presence of Ivan, Masterson's youngest son whose presentation as an Omega had not come as a surprise to anyone as he was quite small. Preceded by no less than three Alpha elder brothers, Ivan was constantly both spoiled and challenged, his frame much more solid than that of Howe's simply due to his constant physical romps with his siblings.

Howe chatted pleasantly with Ivan and their stark differences grew more and more apparent as Ash watched them. How she had ever been taken in with the falsehood of Howe's primary gender was puzzling. Now that she knew, she could see it in every movement, every small detail of the Omega's face and the gentleness of each swoop in expression. She was almost in awe of how no one else present was able to spot what had become so obvious to her. Even if they had, they were bound by etiquette not to mention how overtly _feminine_ a male Omega seemed and therein was the genius of the whole matter.

As she marveled at Howe, she wondered what her name was. It had to be something strong for there could be no sort of weak name for such a willful Omega. She also wondered what her last name could have likely been and if Ash's family might have known them. It was possible. Not even just possible but it was probable.

The Duke would be tickled, she knew, if she was to return home with a darling like Howe. He would laugh to himself over her cut hair and her bravado and he would ask Ash what in the world could have possibly possessed her to bond with such a bizarre creature. Of course, as he already knew, there was much about Ash that he would never understand. The draw of the sea. The draw of this precious impersonator... She quirked her mouth to the side and realized she'd been staring, breaking her eyes away to find Masterson giving her a smug but knowing glance.

Ivan's voice was low but still met Ash's ears.

“And your journey from England? My eldest brother was Captain Neverell's first mate. He is off at sea for a few months but he should be back at the end of summer. He used to tell me all sorts of hideous tales. I hope you witnessed none of it.”

Howe's cheeks were flushed just slightly. “Oh...I daresay the journey was an adventure of the highest order. I only made it onto the deck but three times. Although...I am not much for sailing, it seems. I was sick for a few days and we came upon a storm that was quite frightful.” Her cheeks pinked further when she turned her head to glance at the Alpha and then back around again. “The Captain was very...accommodating. I was much a burden, I do think but I am ever-so grateful for having been cared for so well.”

“I do not know how some Alphas have such an affinity for the sea,” Ivan admitted. “No offense intended, Captain, but it is just a bit of water and it is quite dangerous.”

Ash smiled. It would be too difficult to explain how the broken places in her heart had been filled with salt water and a stony pride. When she had presented, she had wept for days in that horrible pain, lamenting her wicked luck and how she had thought, surely, that she would have made a lovely Lady Haberdeen. She had not seen him after. She had spent that season as an Alpha hidden in the corners of the ballrooms, fleeing if she even caught a glimpse of him. He had called upon her three times thereafter but she could not bear to face him. She could not bear to take his consoling gestures. He had been the reason for her flight.

She looked fondly down at the Omega next to her.

After all, they were not so different and it would have been much too difficult to explain that as well. There was so much she wanted to say to her. So much she wanted to express that she wasn't sure how she would ever get across in a manner that would not alarm the little one overly. She wanted to bring Howe _closer_ , not somehow inadvertently push her away. How it could be so easy to seduce some Omegas and so damnably difficult to do so with others was a mystery she could not puzzle through. Realizing she was taking too long to respond to Ivan's statement, she cleared her throat.

“Do you not have a passion, little Ivan?”

He perked. “A passion? A hobby? I am fond of reading.”

“Reading,” she smiled. “And the feeling you obtain when you wander into an estate's library.”

“Oh,” his smile was huge. “I love libraries.”

“And I love the sea.”

Howe's mouth was curved slightly, a curious faraway gleam in her sky blue eyes. Her voice was light, only a murmur but one that put a tight grip over Ash's heart, squeezing her with a swell of something indescribable.

“Oh yes. I had not thought so at first, but the sea... It is quite lovely, is it not?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps I should be putting "mutual pining" in the tags.


	7. Chapter 7

The first thing that Victoria noticed when she had walked into the ballroom was that there was no place for her to stand that was obvious enough for her to immediately feel comfortable. There was no cluster of Omegas within which she could find any sort of comfort or solace. How things were done in America was much stranger, she thought, when she realized that instead of having one large cluster of Omegas, they would simply move around as little groupings, naturally forming pods of three or four that would move and interact as a unit, often trading members but never coming together and forming a larger group. The small groups were more mobile and still offered some small amount of protection but when they tightened, there was hardly a way to melt into such a small crop.

Ivan was at her side and he handed her a bit of punch, his scent so inherently calm that she couldn't help but be soothed. He seemed utterly at ease even as Alphas began eying him with predatory glances.

Victoria whispered to him. “I remember my presentation ball. How are you not so nervous?”

“What is there to be nervous about?” he asked openly, sipping his punch and smiling amiably. “I have no care for them. I am already rather infatuated with a pleasant fellow that I am certain father invited...simply to make me happy.”

“He is not to your father's liking?”

Ivan shrugged. “It matters not what my father likes. He knows such. He will either give his blessing or I will run away.”

She drew back. “No.”

“Oh yes.” Ivan grinned at her. “He smells of peppermint and spice. Rich and lovely. He sells flowers and he has the most loving eyes. His fingers smell like roses and when he reaches for my hand and kisses...” He looked down at the backs of his fingers and rubbed at the soft skin with his thumb. “He is not of good breeding.”

“He sounds wonderful,” Victoria mused. “His shortcomings could be overlooked by a kind heart and a gentle touch. If you are content with him then nothing else should much matter.”

“Noble of you,” Ivan murmured, grinning a curious little grin while he leaned down toward her after having made certain that not a soul was listening in. “Of course, I should expect as much from a reckless debutante who has thrown away her future and fortune for a dangerous and wild excursion to the wilderness.”

She felt an extreme gasp and the cold fingers of panic close around her heart while she stared at him with wide and undoubtedly terrified eyes.

“Oh do not be so shocked,” he giggled, “You are only too obvious to me. It seems, though, that you have everyone else completely bamboozled. Even the other male Omegas have not shown an ounce of recognition. Not that they would have said as much but I am never one to hold much to propriety.” He shrugged and raised his voice from the low murmur. “And, Victor,” he winked at her, “I have been known to be a fabulous ally in certain matters. Namely those of the heart. Perhaps you have set your sights upon a certain...Captain.”

She was already standing stiff as a board and was only able to fully turn to face him. “That is...that is outrageous...”

“And yet you are not overly upset at my suggestion,” he mused, sipping his punch lazily with one brow tipping upward. “You are a befuddling little Omega, are you not? She would be quite suitable for you. But your circumstances...what you've done...that is very puzzling. It is no matter. All you must do is ask and I shall work my magic for you if you wish. I could have you mated and married in no time at all.”

Her cheeks were blazing. “N-No, thank you. I am quite intent on—”

“That's right,” he smiled. “You are quite intent on settling into the wild frontier.”

She could not hear any mocking in his tone but she was fairly certain that it was there, just under the surface. As if he knew that she was not convinced that the venture was, in fact, a good idea in the slightest. After all, the west was dangerous. If she could have anything she wanted, she would have given up the whole idea and gone home. That was, if home was a viable option. But it wasn't. Her mother was determined to have her bondmarked and married. Victoria shuddered to think of what might happen to her if Swophill ever did manage to get her in a room alone. Mrs. Middly's panicked words informing her in a whisper of what her mother and Swophill planned to do to her had put a cold fear deep into her belly and it had not let up even as she had arrived in America.

“Oh, here is my brother,” Ivan smiled as a tall and handsome Alpha approached. He appeared much like Ivan though built much stronger with that Alpha posture that demanded respect and if Victoria remember correctly, his name was Gregory. “He'll want to dance with you.”

Ivan was correct in that assumption and she found herself led away and swept onto the dance floor.

“I must apologize,” she fumbled, “I am not a very good dancer.”

The Alpha chuckled. “You are hardly the only one who will step on my toes tonight and for you,” he smiled, “I'll take the punishment.”

“Please,” she smiled, “Do not become a martyr for the sake of my feelings.”

“Think nothing of it. It is our lot, us Alphas, to be at the whims of an Omega's feelings. I hold no ill will about it. Tell me, little one,” he said, deftly guiding her in their dance, “How is London? I have never been, myself. Frederick tells us all sorts of tall tales about the places he has seen but I do not, for a moment, believe that he has been in a ton ballroom.”

She giggled. “Oh. They are no different from yours. They have a different style but it is all very much the same. Although...” she frowned. “The Omegas usually group together. And here...”

“They will in some places,” he interjected. “It depends upon the mood of a party, I think. If they feel very much threatened, they will pool together. I suppose that tells me much about the mood of your London parties.” His brows jutted upward. “Do you often feel threatened, little one?”

She accidentally stepped on his foot and he gently moved with her as not to make her mistake too obvious. “Oh...” She floundered. “I...I suppose...sometimes I...there have been...moments...”

“Alphas can be terrible, can they not? I am allowed to say such as I am one.” He bubbled with laughter. “We can be right beasts if we are not too careful about it. I believe my father was once a horrible beast but my mother did manage to tame him.”

Mrs. Masterson had been a regal presence at the table at dinner. A relatively tall Omega, she was inordinately proud of Ivan and seemed overly pleased at his presentation. It was not at all uncommon for the Omega in a pair to feel better about having a bond with one of their children through their dynamic but she seemed unusually content. Perhaps she simply knew how to impart the wisdom of her years onto her son. To teach him how to tame a wild beast.

Gregory swept her over the dance floor and easily matched with her, avoiding any of her clumsy steps with grace. “When he was a lad, he was making his fortune in the shipping trade and he was a ruthless, reckless dasher. And then he met my mother.” His expression warmed as did his scent. “And the bounder was tamed by her. She was a bit of a harpy, I understand. There are things that Omegas can do by themselves and then there are things that Omegas can do once in the marriage bed. I swear to you, little one, you are all the power behind the thrown.”

She reeled. “How is that?”

He gently whirled her. “Well, take my mother for example. When my father was a lad, he owned dozens of slaves. They worked for him on the docks and otherwise, transporting cargo, taking care of the ships, maintaining his docks, building his warehouses, all of it. As soon as my mother was in his bed, she easily turned him against such practices. It was as though she had the man dangling from a string, or so that's how my father tells it. To this day, he does not have a single slave and pays all of his servants a fair wage. The wonders that an Omega can work—the miracles even. They are limitless.”

Victoria pondered what he had told her even when he deposited her back at Ivan's side. Even the concept that an Omega had any power at all was so foreign to her and yet here was an entire family that seemed built around that very idea. Her eyes sought out Mr. Masterson and she studied the way he interacted with the other Alphas. None of them seemed even bothered by the fact that he had been manipulated by his wife into becoming a benevolent man who was unwilling to take advantage of a subjugated group. She looked around and altered her perception in order to spy the servants who moved through the crowd often as though they were invisible, picking up stray glasses and refilling the punch bowl and the small finger sandwiches. That any of them could have been bought or sold was beyond her. That any human could be a commodity was unfathomable. But, she conceded, was that not how her mother had treated her?

She felt her innards go warm.

Ivan scented it. “What in the world has got you worked up, Victor? My brother could not have possibly angered you. He is the most gentle Alpha I've—”

“It is not that...” she sighed, growing even more frustrated. The oppressive scent of the Alphas in the room was becoming too much and the mild scent of Ivan was not enough to help her. She missed having her fan. Having a group of them so close together as to completely obscure the overpowering odor. “I am of the mind that I need a little air.”

He calmly directed her to the doors and escorted her there, mentioning a short stone bench that was set out on the edge of the terrace, overlooking the dark garden. It was in full view of the ballroom and if she left the French doors open, there would be no reason to require a chaperone to sit out with her. The air was pleasant and warm and she put out her legs, locking her knees out straight and putting her heels on the stone, appreciating the odd poses she could get away with while wearing trousers. She folded her hands in her lap and sighed, her back curved in horrible posture while she tried to relax. The whole of her journey had placed her here and now that she was facing the reality of existing in America, she was starting to wonder what in the world she ever could have been thinking.

_“Your mother, Victoria. I've heard her with that Alpha. He is to stay here. You are in much danger, my love. You cannot stay. He will bite you if you cannot escape. We must send you off. Somewhere. Far.”_

She was far, she thought. She had done everything that Mrs. Middly told her to do. She had fulfilled every point save one. Go west. She had a modest amount of money and she could make it there and begin to work. But how many others, like Ivan, could there be who could see through her disguise? What would they do about it? Nothing? What could they possibly gain from having revealed her?

She closed her eyes and dipped her head down, her mind a maelstrom of churning thoughts and questions. It was a familiar state. She had been plagued with questions and fears ever since she had been launched into the care of the most honorable and compassionate Alpha. At the memory, she smelled the salt and the sea and suddenly she was warm and soothed with the overwhelming vision that blocked out all her worries and pushed them out of her head with the images of the crashing waves and the lapping of a loving sea on the wooden sides of _Apollo_. The crisp air that filled the white sails and ruffled her short blonde, cool and bracing while it whipped about, catching auburn tendrils that had escaped the braids she had put into Neverell's hair...

“Feeling alright, Howe?”

She gasped and jumped, twisting her head about to find the Captain behind the bench, looking down at her with her hands in her pockets and a soft expression in her features. Her scent was as lovely as it was prevalent and it was truly no wonder that she had been overtaken by the images it brought forth.

“I understand that our scents can be sickening in a mix such as this. And for you...” Neverell trailed off, coming around the bench and peering down. “May I join you?”

Victoria was at a loss. On one hand, she had come seeking respite from the crowd and on the other, there was nothing she wanted more than to be sitting with the Captain. She should have been just as frustrated by this odd attraction as she was about everything else but she couldn't bring herself to well up the common emotion. She nearly stammered. “O-Of course.”

Neverell sat, taking stock of Victoria's odd posture and mimicking the pose of her legs, sighing while she did so. “You are quite the enigma, dove.”

“How is that?”

The Captain shrugged. “You...you remind me of myself if you don't mind me saying.” When Victoria didn't respond, Neverell continued. “When I ran, it wasn't because I couldn't see my own future. I saw it very well. I would have been taken care of by my father. He did love me, after all.” She glanced over at Victoria. A glance that the Omega did not return. “I was his eldest. Since my younger brother was taller than I was, it was considered obvious that he was to present as an Alpha and that he would carry the title. I would marry Lord Haberdeen.”

Victoria finally turned her head to the Captain, frowning. Lord Haberdeen had married a delightful Beta from the Villanova family by the name of Willa, she thought. He had been married for as long as Victoria had known him though admittedly, she had not known him long.

“Oh yes,” she chuckled, that deep feminine tone putting goosebumps over Victoria's skin. “Haberdeen was so handsome. I thought I should be so lucky to have him. As a Beta, the Omegas were terribly jealous of me. They would slip me dirty looks whenever I danced with him and they would chatter about me in parlors. Claimed that I had no right to him. That I was a meddling Alpha-stealing interloper. Oh yes. All of it.” Her mouth curved into a nostalgic grin. “How foolish we all were.”

Victoria looked back down at her hands.

“When I presented, I was...devastated. There was no hope for me to capture a debutante. They had already come to hate me for my courtship. My father knew it but he forced me to spend a season in London anyhow. It went as you would expect and I fled. I never intended to return, of course, but my father did hold out hope that one day I would come back and, with a new crop of debutantes, come to my senses and settle in with the estate. I do have a head for numbers, you see, and my brother does not. He wished for me to manage his estates...even take over one of them.”

“And you did not because...”

“I was ashamed. I suppose I still am. I had fallen in love with Marcus and as an Alpha, I was sudden barred from him. He of course tried to call upon me but I could not handle his condolences. I knew he was saddened by the circumstances but his prospects were much better than mine and I could not watch him marry another.” Her eyes were soft upon Victoria and she could feel the weight of her gaze. “I still do not wish to see him...happy with his Countess. My own desperation to get away came from here.” She gently touched her own chest. “I have a feeling that yours comes from elsewhere.”

She looked up at the Alpha with questioning eyes.

“You worry you are being followed. As do I.”

“You do not have to care for me, Captain. I am not your responsibility.”

She was still smiling. “If I have done nothing to help you when it was in my full power to have done so, I should consider myself the greatest of fools. I know you have stated your desire to make your way into the west over and over, and it is no doubt what you have convinced yourself is the only way for you to escape whomever could be pursuing you...” She bit her bottom lip and frowned in thought. “But...if you were to have anything you wished. If you were to go anywhere in the world. If you were not chased to the ends of the Earth by some hideous blackness...”

Victoria felt tears well up in her eyes and knew that Neverell could no doubt scent her regret and her sorrow and every complex emotion that had been saved for when she was alone at night and trapped with them in the darkness. She could not speak and she shook her head her lips tight together.

“If you were not forced to disappear into the wilderness, would you...” She paused, thinking carefully over her soft words. “Would you go home?”

“It is useless to speculate over what I would do,” Victoria choked. “I _am_ and that is all that matters. There is no question. I am propelled forward and cannot turn. I am...”

“You are thrown into the wind, little one.” She leaned toward Victoria, her scent calming and strong while her warmth invaded the Omega's bones. “I...I wish to offer you sails and a helm. I confess that it was Masterson's suggestion but...I would offer you my mark and, if you would have me,” Neverell produced as if by magic a single blooming rose, presenting it as if a promise, “my bond.”

With a shuddering gasp, Victoria stood suddenly, nearly falling over the bench as she stumbled back, her eyes shifting between the Captain and the rose before she left, walking briskly back into the warmth and confusion of the ballroom, the music jumbled in her ears and the sound of dozens of Alpha tones garbling in her brain. She ignored any who called her name—not even _her_ name, some _false_ name that she had thought would service her—and fled to the hall and the stairs, heedless of distractions. When she was safely in the comfort of her temporary bedchamber, she wept in wracking ugly sobs, comforted only by Miss Betty who had crept in and begun stroking her back in a soft gesture of compassion.

_My bond._

It was useless. She felt so lost. She could not possibly have thought that it would be so simple. All of the time she had spent in English ballrooms and she had never once felt this way about any of the Alphas. She had not thought that any of their scents were so alluring, so intoxicating. She had never felt so blinded by someone and so simultaneously helpless and hopeful.

“This hideous feeling, Miss Walker,” she wept. “This horrible crushing weight!”

“Shhhh,” Miss Betty soothed. “You'll be alright, little one.”

She sobbed into the pillows and rasped out her response, surer of her words than she had ever been of any before them. “I am to be eaten alive, Miss Walker. And there is not a thing I can do to prevent it. It comes from within me. It is wrenching and terrible and I cannot stop it. There is no cure.”

The Beta, understanding, or at least seeming to, replied softly, “No, Mr. Howe. I suppose there is not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neverell, coming on a little strong. I mean, Carlton did call her brash.


	8. Chapter 8

She was sitting in the library with her whiskey in her hand and a scowl on her face. There had been at least one or two others who had come into the library only to scent her frustration that was thick in her aroma and turn tail to keep from her. She must have smelled horribly overwrought and why shouldn't she? She'd mucked it all up even as she was trying to make everything sound so sweet and compassionate. She hadn't thought she had been so objectionable but when the little Omega had stood up and fled so quickly, she had poured over her words for anything she might have inadvertently let slip that would provide for such an intense reaction. She had misinterpreted something, that was for damned certain.

Without Howe in attendance, there was no reason for her to stay so she made to get up and tell Masterson that she was leaving, finding him mingling about with a few delightful little Omegas and his wife. He broke away to speak with her, his mustache twitching while he regarded her seriously.

“I have heard that Howe has retired. I suppose that is your doing,” the older Alpha grunted.

“I did what you said to do. I...I tried. I am much too clumsy in the attempt, it seems. He ran from me like a petrified rabbit. There is not much else I can do tonight and I am rather...” she sighed, “Rather _peeved_ about it.”

Masterson patted Ash's shoulder. “You've been rutting those Omegas at Port Royal too often. You haven't had to use a light hand on a potential bedmate in years, have you?”

“I'm not trying to _rut_ him, Masterson, I'm trying to...” She groaned.

“What?” he asked, his thick brows popping upward. “Marry him? I thought we spoke about this. Are you prepared to do so?”

“I...” She covered her eyes with her hand. “I am prepared to...to face the Duke, at least.”

“No,” Masterson chuckled. “Your father would love him. A fascinating little creature and the Duke would be smitten simply from the fact that Mr. Howe had finally tamed you. And your mother, the hopeless romantic, would no doubt adore the tale.”

She grimaced, wondering just how much her mother would love the tale of how her beloved daughter had fallen in love with a cross-dressing girl running desperately from her betrothed. It was like some sordid novel and her mother would either eat it up or reject it entirely. She wasn't sure which.

“All of your speculation is for nothing if I cannot get him to fall in love with _me_.”

“Did he take the—”

Ash pulled the rose from her pocket and the two of them stared at it together, their mouths flat and Masterson's brows puckered in the middle.

“Perhaps a note. A love note. You can slip it under the door.”

She breathed out through her nose, hopeless. “He has rejected me, Masterson. He's made me into a lovesick fool and I pine alone.”

“Oh pish posh,” he dismissed, catching a passing servant with a tray and taking a drink from the platter. He sipped it and then gulped from it, clearly enjoying his party. “Anyone can scent the calm he gets from being near you. You'd make a fine match were you to take him home and make an honest woman out of yourself.”

“God,” she whispered. “If you had told me fifteen years ago that I would come back to England because I was in love with an Omega, I would have laughed in your face.” She rubbed at her brow. “I'm going to the ship for a night's rest.”

“Make sure to call upon him tomorrow. Ivan does plan on taking him out to see Charleston but he should be about most of the day. You'll have to come see him if you plan to seduce him.”

“You're drunk, Masterson.”

“I am,” he laughed. “And it's made me quite agreeable, I daresay. It is good that Howe has retired or I might have been of the mind to tell him to pull himself together and take you up on your offer. Whatever offer you made, that is.” He cocked a brow and then snorted with another laugh. “Oh lord, Neverell. You are so enchanted by him. It is in everything. Your eyes. Your scent. He is your Omega, no doubt.”

She left him and grumbled all the way to the carriage that would take her back to the ship, hunched and grumpy all the way until she had kicked off her boots in her cabin and rang the bell for Carlton to bring her a bath. She wanted to erase all of those sticky pheromones that had clung to her clothes from the partygoers. She wanted nothing to impede her ability to scent the fading fragrance of Howe that had stubbornly clung to her sheets after they had been sodden with her slick.

God! She wanted that beautiful, vexing and captivating _woman_. She wanted her _safe_ and secure and above all things, Ash wanted the tiny, feminine Omega to be _happy_. It was a stubborn set of thoughts and she could not dispel them no matter how hard she tried. She wanted the debutante to be content.

_What if that means that she is to be without me?_

There was a hollow feeling that settled just next to her heart just as Carlton made his appearance. She rounded on him, frowning while he carried in her bath with another of the Beta crew members. They filled it with hot water and when the other crew member left, Carlton shuffled toward the door but paused.

“The little lad,” he said gruffly, “he has no mind to be romanced, still?”

“I cannot tell,” she admitted. “I think not but I am so perplexed and unsure. There are things that are tripping me on my path to him. I should not have thought it would be so easy as to simply give him a flower.” She stripped off her clothes, impatient to dip herself into the steaming bath. “Masterson accused me of a heavy hand.”

“Mayhap he was right, Captain.”

“Watch your tongue, Beta.”

He chuckled. “Come off it, Captain. The little lad is just scared and doesn't know what he is to do with ye. Maybe find him a poem.” The valet gestured to the bookshelf. “Omegas are romantic little beasts. Read him a sonnet.”

“A _sonnet_ , Mr. Carlton?” She rolled her eyes at him and stepped into her bath, sinking down until she was covered. “Come here and wash my hair, you insufferable man. I'll not be reading him a _sonnet_. If anything, I should get him more flowers...or...” She glowered, sinking down toward the water and covering her mouth with it while she felt Carlton start taking the pins out of her braids. She lifted her head just to growl. “What sort of Alpha do you think I _am_ , Mr. Carlton?”

“An Alpha in love does many strange and mysterious things,” he gruffly advised.

“Why is it so damn obvious to all of you that I'm in love?! I do not recall having _told_ any of you this! How am I even to know if that is what it is? How am I to know if I truly am so...so...”

Carlton pushed down on her head until she was submerged and let her come up on her own, her long hair plastered to her face until he gently pulled it away and began to wash it while she continued to glare over the water, tendrils of her auburn locks floating around her shoulders. He did not respond and simply completed his task, taking plenty of time afterward to dry her long mane and then brush it for her, his strokes and harsh pulls nothing like the gentle hands of the little miss that she was enraptured by.

When she finally was able to crawl into her bed and pull the sheets around her body, she bunched a bit of them up and pressed them to her nose, that faint but incredible heat scent still lingering in the fabric, so badly had they been soaked.

_She must be told. It must be revealed to her that I know her secret. Then she will have the chance to finally bloom for me._

Ash glanced at her night stand where the small rose lay, its petals slightly crushed and wilted. Her Omega had slid by the force of a wave, her circumstances, and had saved herself only by chance with her flight. She was dangling and at risk one way or the other—caught by her willfulness, her pride, and the tentative and thin hold she had over her secrets.

_Caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea._

* * *

Ivan took her into town the next morning and introduced her to several prominent residents that she had not met at the party the night before as she had retired rather early. If he was curious about the subject, he did not let on and she was not questioned about it. He must have sensed that she did not wish to delve into any deep discussions or sensitive subjects because he did not press her in the least, preferring to give her a small history of Charleston and lead her about in an open carriage. He was brash and very American, she thought, teasing the laboring Alphas with half-lidded eyes and haunting stares.

“Would you like to meet him?” he asked her, sitting up straight in the carriage and giving her a conspiring smirk.

“Meet...?”

“Mr. Dimmond.” His eyes were wistful. “He was at the ball last night but you missed him when he came to me. He was ever-so polite. He only waltzed with me once. He is so thoughtful about such matters and he did not want to make things unpleasant for me. But I hope he knows that I care not about trifles. I swear it is as if he cannot know that his marriage to me should cause more wagging tongues than a few waltzes.”

She couldn't help but smile and let out a small giggle. It was like many Alphas to believe that they were responsible for too much or not enough. The giggle was stifled when she thought about just how much Neverell believed herself to be responsible for. Somehow, through the ache in her chest, she managed to smile again.

“Ah,” Ivan fretted. “You've been struck by melancholy again. It's so sharp, I swear I can taste it when it comes from you. You simply _must_ get that in order, Victor, or it will consume you. You'll just rot from the inside out. If you don't take care of the matter, you'll find yourself doubly embarrassed upon your next cycle when you begin screaming out a _name_.”

“Oh do stop talking about it,” she begged. “I cannot help it. Please. Distract me. Take me to Mr. Dimmond so that I might meet him and you may see him again.”

Ivan rolled his eyes at her, unsatisfied at her response. He instructed the driver on where to go and when they arrived, she could smell a veritable cacophony of aromas from many different types of flowers that were set up all about a little shop. The place was modest with glass windows in the doors and a tiny and crumbling front stoop. The building was sandwiched between two other shops and seemed very much drab compared to the Masterson manor house. It was really no wonder if Mr. Masterson would be upset about is son having been courted by a man who ran such a place. Victoria grimaced at the rustic-looking building.

“Don't bother telling me you hate it,” Ivan grinned. “I love it.” He leaped from where he sat to the ground and helped Victoria out of the carriage, lifting her easily under her arms and setting her down gracefully as if he were a Beta rather than an Omega like she. With Victoria at his heels, he burst into the dimly-lit shop and put out his arms with his voice loud and passionate. “I want two dozen roses, Mr. Dimmond!”

As Ivan had noted, the tall dark-haired Alpha that was holding a pile of fragrant flowers in his arms smelled like peppermint and some sort of spicy musk that was memorable and pleasant. He made a placating smile and set down his burden, brushing off his hands and straightening his apron with a bashful glance to Victoria.

“Yes, Mr. Masterson. I can most certainly fill that order if you are content to wait for it.”

“I would wait a thousand years for you, Mr. Dimmond.”

The Alpha finally smiled but it was slight and he rubbed the back of his head with his quiet response. “I should never ask that of you, Mr. Masterson.”

“Had you met Mr. Victor Howe, Mr. Dimmond? I believe you missed him at the ball last night. He is visiting from England. He wants to go west.”

“Oh?” Dimmond asked, his eyes lighting. “My father went west. He was to stake a claim and then send for us.”

Victoria's heart skipped a beat while the strong Alpha scent faded into a deep sorrow.

“Oh yes. It seemed like it would be a new beginning. But the west is dangerous, as you know.”

_Oh god._

Her heart caught in her throat as the reality of what had happened to the older Mr. Dimmond suddenly dawned upon her.

“Of course,” Dimmond said, his voice taking on a lighter note, “That was such a long time ago. I am certain that it may be easier now than it was then. Perhaps.” His brows twitched downward slightly. “Allow me to fill that order for you, Mr. Masterson. Shall you be paying now or shall I put it upon credit?”

Ivan reached into his pocket and produced a few coins, dropping them noisily on the wooden counter. “Promises and credit are nothing to me.”

“Ah. As they are nothing to your father,” Dimmond stated lightly as he moved around the counter and through a doorway to a storage room. He brought out to Ivan twenty four beautiful red roses just at the cusp of their peak and Victoria almost couldn't stand to look at them for the memory of the single bloom she had been presented with the night previous. The Alpha wrapped them in paper and Ivan called for the footman to come take them and store them safely. From behind him, Dimmond produced a loose rose with a long stem that was not red but white, letting Ivan gently take it from his fingers while they shared an intimate glance, Ivan's scent warming and infusing with a scant tang that Victoria could not recognize. The Alpha's voice was just barely above a whisper but clear in the still air around them. “One more, Mr. Masterson. For luck.”

Ivan touched it to his lips, his smugness and flippant words gone while he stared at _his_ Alpha and Victoria wondered suddenly if this was how Ivan had seen she and Neverell. If this was how it was so transparent—if this was how _love_ really looked from the outside.

She was disgruntled by the idea until Ivan had distracted her with a box of sweets that they were to share on their way home and she pensively munched the chocolates while the carriage headed back to the manor house. Before they had even stepped down, the friendly manservant she had met the day previous approached with a large smile, beckoning to Ivan.

“Young Mr. Masterson, your brother! He is home for a short time. A great surprise!”

“No!” Ivan gasped. “Freddie's back?” His eyes were alight and he leaped from his seat again, taking Victoria down with an extra whirl and an excited shout. “Freddie's back!” He set her down while she giggled. “You are to love him, Victor, he has so many stories to tell and he is so good at telling them. He will make you laugh harder than you have ever before.”

The manservant aided the footman in taking the flowers inside and mentioned in passing, “He has brought a guest, Mr. Masterson. Some gentleman. I do not recall his name. Very proper. Quite handsome.”

“Agh,” the taller Omega grunted, leaning toward Victoria, “Freddie is opposed to Mr. Dimmond. He's always trying to set me up with some _gentleman_ or another. It's like trying to dress a cod in a suit and sell it.” He elbowed her lightly while she laughed. “Oh we'll just see about this one, won't we, Victor? No foppish gent can hold a candle to my Mr. Dimmond.”

They climbed the steps together, her boots tapping while Ivan bubbled on about Freddie and Victoria listened with a smile. The heat of the city made the cool shade of the front hall feel like heaven on her skin and the amount of sweat that had collected in the soft fabric of her cravat—damn cravats, she thought—made her fair itching for a bath. She had spent far too much time out in the sun and, as a man, she was not given the option of a parasol and she thought perhaps that her nose and ears were to be a bit pink later on. Her carefully maintained paleness would be lost anyhow if she really were to set off into the wilderness.

She muddled the thoughts, mixing them together while she was led to the parlor where she assumed Ivan's eldest brother would be waiting with the suitor he had picked for the young Omega. She had only just made it through the threshold when the Alphas in the room stood up as they entered and she was struck with a hauntingly familiar scent. She halted immediately and her eyes searched the standing audience to their arrival. Ivan's brother was easily recognizable, his features much like Gregory's and...

Mr. Masterson's low, grunting tone met her ears, grating into her while her panicked gaze fell over a pompous and smug grin that revealed too-sharp teeth clamped together with an unspoken threat.

“Mr. Swophill, this is my son, Ivan, and our guest, Mr. Howe.”

His voice was murky, pleasant but vaguely disconcerting as he stared at Victoria through cold, dispassionate eyes. “Mr. Howe? I believe we've...met.”

She ran and this time she did not run for her heart. This time, she ran for her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well anyway.
> 
> It was all a good try.
> 
> If you like this one, let me know in the comments. And if you can't talk about the story, you can berate me for only making it to episode 9 in season 1 of Supernatural.


	9. Chapter 9

_Something is horribly wrong._

It wouldn't leave her mind. It was sudden and weighty and it stuck like pitch, black and seeping. A vague pressure had begun and it felt as though it was nowhere and everywhere, inside her and outside her. A tingling over her skin and a push, a prickle, a tension in every bone and organ. Her brain was whispering but what it was saying, she couldn't hone in on.

 _Wrong. Wrong. Wrong._ _**Wrong.** _

It was chewing at her for at least an hour before she finally gave in and left sometime before noon, mounting a charming but quick painted mare that trotted through the streets, maneuvering easily through the carriages and ignoring Ash's nervousness entirely. It was a good trait in a horse, she thought, and it was a pity she couldn't pack her up and take her back to England with her.

She was very nearly to Masterson's manor when she heard a scream that tore her soul through.

_Wrong!_

With a sharp “hiyup!” she kicked the mare into a sudden gallop and the horse agreed wholeheartedly to the run, pushing forward while Ash quietly thanked her for avoiding a resistant buck. The lovely little paint was more than just quick, she was smart and perceptive. There was another scream and the horse perked her ears to the sound over her beating hooves, altering her course without Ash's prompting. The mare slowed and followed Ash's lead as the two of them came upon Howe, circling the Omega and pawing at the dirt with a few impatient and anxious nods.

Howe hadn't even noticed Ash's arrival. The Alpha that held her sleeve, however, was painfully aware of her. The Omega was pulling so hard against his grip that the sleeve of her shirt had torn at the shoulder, baring her pretty white skin to the beating southern sun. Her eyes and her scent were filled with an abject terror and the Captain felt her urges nearly overcome her. Her mind was screaming to protect. To save. To _harm_ the Alpha who dared touch and frighten _her_ Omega.

She leaped from the mare, her boots kicking up dust from the road and her heavy, long strides filled with purpose and authority when she approached the _interloper_. Her full intent was to rip Howe from his grip, hold her close, and demand an explanation. She was, in all respects, angry at herself. Partly for leaving her Omega where she could be touched by another Alpha and mostly because she didn't have a sword on her hip. She growled, her shoulders raising while the obviously well-dressed gentleman took a step back, keeping his firm grip on Howe's shirtsleeve.

His voice was deep and he seemed to regain some of his bearings, stepping forward again.

“This doesn't concern you, Alpha. My Omega and I are having a _private_ discussion.”

She snarled, her vision beginning to waver at the edges. “ _Your_ Omega?” She could feel her breath becoming short and she had to swallow to rein in her temper. Her control had never faltered before this. Perhaps it was the heat. Perhaps it was... Howe was still struggling to get away, her small body convulsing with dry sobs, her eyes focused intently on the Alpha that held her fast, terror forcing her pupils to widen, her flight response pure instinct, plain and simple.

“You have no claim here,” he tried but there was no conviction in his voice even as it held a hard edge.

“Neither, I believe, do you,” she replied, her tone low and threatening, burning from that barely leashed rage.

“Mind your own,” he snapped, nearly losing his hold on Howe when she gave a great yelp and a tug that tore her sleeve further, the sound of rending harsh in the still air.

Ivan was the first to approach, his running steps skittering to a halt when he smelled the danger in the two warring Alpha scents. He called out, his voice capturing Howe's attention, snapping her back into reality. “Victor!”

“Victor?!” the Alpha laughed humorlessly. “Victor!” He stared down at Howe with contempt. “Is this the best you could do? Victor, indeed. She is a _woman_ , you know,” he spat and Howe's head snapped to Ash, her horror complete at the reveal. “And she is _mine_.”

“The _devil_ she is!” Ash roared, her fists balled and hard at her sides.

The unfamiliar Alpha sneered. “Oh. And I suppose you think she is _yours_. She has had you all convinced that she is a _man_ , you do not even know her true identity. You are _far_ beneath her, Alpha. She's been manipulating you. Using you! You are a means to an end for her. She cannot be yours, Alpha.”

The first impulse she had was to insist that _of cou_ _rse_ Howe was hers. That there was nothing more sure in her life. Even with everything boiling within her, even with the words on the tip of her tongue, she ground out her response.

“She cannot be mine. She is _her own_.”

His laugh was incredulous. “Her _own_?”

“I will defend her independence, Alpha,” Ash warned. “I will lay you down if you do not unhand her immediately.”

The Alpha paused, considering Ash for a long moment before he straightened and abruptly let go of Howe's sleeve, letting the Omega stagger, confused, backward while the rest of the Alphas from the manor house arrived, not as quick on their feet as Ivan had been. Within the gaze of their new audience, Howe was awkward and jittery and the Alpha was disturbingly composed.

“Perhaps,” he began, “we've gotten off on the wrong foot.” He brushed himself off and made a very slight bow. “I am Handel Swophill, future Viscount of Vritton. And Victoria Lanchester is my betrothed. She has been promised to me by her mother and I intend on fulfilling that wish. Victoria merely has a bad case of cold feet.” He passed the frightened Omega a narrow-eyed grimace in his displeasure.

Masterson snorted, drawing everyone's attention. He thumbed his mustache and he chuckled out, “ _Victoria_. Lord, that answers some questions.” Ivan let out a loose hand and smacked his father's chest with a frown. He cleared his throat and shook his head, adopting a brusque tone. “Obviously this is an event that has put a shock to our guest, _Miss Lanchester_. Mr. Swophill, I'm sure you would agree that it is in the little one's best interests to be set abed in the event of a stress.”

“I will not be allowing her out of my sight,” he growled. “Lest she end up lost to me _again_. It has taken far too long to find her and I will _not_ be pleased to have it happen twice. She only lucky enough that no _lowborn_ Alpha managed to take a bite of her.” He stared down his nose at Ash, pointedly curling his lip.

“ _Curse you!_ ” Victoria screamed, her tiny hands balled and her expression fierce. “Captain Neverell is _twice_ the Alpha you are! Three times, even! If you are to force me to bond, I will send you straight to the devil and be hanged gladly.”

Ash felt herself jolt with the disturbing image.

Masterson put out a peaceful hand. “Now, now,” he mused. “The man speaks truth, little one?”

“True or not, I'll never be his bride,” she claimed through bared teeth, her eyes wild. “I'll cut out his beating heart. I'll give it to my mother! I'll throw myself from—”

Ash interrupted her, drawing her eyes. “You will do no such thing.”

“But...”

“We are in America, Omega,” Ash said softly. “There is no claim upon you.” She moved, keeping a watchful eye upon Swophill when she approached the tiny, trembling woman. “He can do nothing to you without fear of retribution.” When she was at Victoria's side, she swiped a tender thumb over the Omega's cheek and noted the difference in her scent as its sweetness returned at the touch. Swophill was seething when she turned to Masterson. “Miss Lanchester will stay in my quarters until she has calmed.”

Ivan protested, “And if she is to come down with a heat? You cannot expect her to weather one aboard your ship.”

“The fact of the matter is,” Ash explained, “That she already has. The sea is not always a charming bedfellow. She came out as unscathed from that one as she will from this one if it is to happen.”

“No,” Swophill said, his defiant word floating in the air between them.

Masterson cleared his throat. “I beg pardon, Mr. Swophill but if your mark is nowhere to be found on her neck, you can have no say over what the Omega is to do. I believe that it is Miss Lanchester's decision.”

“I am her betrothed,” he explained, as if Masterson was an imbecile. “She is _mine_. When we are back in England—”

“Mr. Swophill,” Masterson snapped, “You are not _currently_ in England. If she has no Alpha looking over her that can make their wishes known, she has no tethers tying her _anywhere_. She does not have to return to England. Ever. If the little Miss wanted to toss off all of her clothes and proposition the next Alpha she saw on her way to the county poorhouse, she would be perfectly free to do so. Your suggestion that she is under your control merely by being promised to you is enough to make a stuffed bird laugh.” He turned his attention to Victoria. “Miss Lanchester, this decision is yours. You may go where you will and if you shall so wish it, _neither_ of these Alphas will have anything to say about the matter.”

Ash felt small fingers tentatively touch her palm and she looked down to find that Victoria had already made her choice, the realization a deep and profound tug upon her heart. She felt as if she may expire from the sheer euphoria of that soft, feather-light tickle on her palm. The Omega huddled close to her side.

“I will go with the Captain,” Victoria stated clearly. “I have done well in her care. I trust her.”

“As well you should,” Masterson smiled. “Take care, little one. Get some rest. I will have Miss Walker bring you an extra set of your clothes.”

Swophill, with his frustration and rage still pumping out in his scent, gave an angry snarl before he turned away, flashing Masterson a dangerous glance before he stomped off.

Ash led Victoria to the painted mare who was standing with her ears perked and alert. With a little heft, she lifted the Omega into the saddle and then followed, close behind her. She murmured as she asked the horse to walk with her thighs.

“You are brave, Miss Lanchester. He could have hurt you.”

Victoria's tiny hands held the horn of the saddle tightly. “It is to sound thoughtless but I had not cared. If he was to hurt me, it would be just another reason to hate him.”

“There are some Omegas who will freeze in place when they are startled, but you ran. Do you always run when you are threatened?”

“It is cowardly, but yes. I have always run. I am too small to fight...”

Ash's chest warmed. “And such violent words you used. I doubt it much that you would not be true to your word. I fear that Mr. Swophill has no concept the validity of those threats. You surely would carve his heart from his chest, would you not?” She chuckled. “Miss Lanchester. _Victoria._ A strong name. A _queen's_ name. Valkyrie of Omegas.”

“No, no,” Victoria laughed softly, her sweet scent gaining an extra layer of happiness that washed away any of the leftover sting of her fear and anxiety. “Not so much a Valkyrie. I...I know not from where those words arose. I am not so brave, I assure you. It is just that he trapped me. And he has made me so angry. I have come _so far_ and I have done so much to escape him and how he _dared_ to come for me after all that I have done to show him I did not want him...”

“Oh yes,” Ash smiled, steadying the little Omega with a hand on her hip as the mare swerved slightly to avoid the traffic of carriages on their way to port. The feel of that small body against her, especially the soft curve of her bottom as it was flush against Ash's groin, was enough to make her nearly wishing for one of those unpredictable heats. “How dare he,” she murmured, taking a deep breath, scenting for any alteration that would indicate that she was to come down with one. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

“But Captain...” she started softly, “I...I did trick you. I am...not Mr. Howe.”

“And that is to have made a difference?” she asked, keeping her tone serene while she led the mare to _Apollo_ 's berth. She dismounted first and stared up at the Omega who made no move.

“I lied to you, Captain.”

“Hardly the first,” she replied, reaching up and assisting Victoria's dismount, swinging her to the ground and then offering her arm. “There was nothing of life or death that you have kept from me. If you are a man or a woman, what difference is that to make to me? My offer would stand regardless.”

“Your offer?”

“My bond, Miss Lanchester. You have not forgotten.”

There was a flicker of apprehension in the Omega's sky blue eyes. “No...no...I have not.” Her small fingers rested in the crook of Ash's arm and the Alpha led her down the gangway to the deck. Once she was safely inside the cabin, she turned around, fiddling with her gloved fingers. “I apologize for reacting so rudely last night. It was just that...you had startled me. Now, I am unsure of what I shall do. I know that Swophill will not leave me be if I am to remain. I know not what course I am to take. I am all but trapped by him.”

Ash closed her eyes, knowing that the next words from the little debutante would hurt her.

“If you are honest. About your bond, Captain...”

“Stop, little one,” she whispered and Victoria did. “I admit that I have offered you my bite or my bond. But if you are to take my bite and chose not to be my mate, I shall have you placed in Port Royal. I will sail you there myself before I return to England. Swophill will surely be unable to find you. There will be none who know our course but ourselves, the helmsman and the navigator. You will take your dangerous flight into the wilderness from there if you can. But know that it will hurt me to let you go. It will take everything in my spirit to watch you leave. You will take a part of me with you. But I will _not stop you_.”

“Because...I am my own?”

“That is precisely why. I have thought very hard about what it would mean to have you and I am prepared to provide for you. In every way. If it means that I will not sail, then so be it.”

Victoria seemed shaken. “Captain, you cannot give up your passion...”

She touched her thumb again to Victoria's cheek. “Why not? It seems that it will be impossible for me to have both of them.”

“I do not want to go to Port Royal,” she whispered, her clear blue eyes shining in the light of the lamps. “I...I am consumed by this strange thing inside me. When you said that you ran from England to escape something within you, I could not help but believe that it is the very same as what takes hold of me when you are near. I believe I understand what you endured when you ran from Lord Haberdeen for it would be the same pain I would force you to endure again should I be set down at Port Royal. I cannot do that to you...or myself. I think I am in love with you, Captain. And it is terrifying. And wonderful. And I should like to go back to England now...if you would be so kind as to take me there.”

“I will take you anywhere, Miss Lanchester.”

“Victoria...please.”

“Victoria,” she murmured. “Ash.”

“Ash,” the Omega whispered, her hands trembling while she gently reached up, pulling the Alpha down until she could lean forward on her toes to press her nose to the side of her neck. With the first breath in she took, Victoria gave a muted but pleasured groan while Ash seized the opportunity to finally partake of that heady Omega fragrance.

_Summer wind. Meadows free for a galloping stallion. Wildflowers blooming in every color. Red for passion. Purple for loyalty. Yellow for laughter. White for innocence. Weathered leather, the softness of a horse's ears, and the creak of a familiar saddle. The cold of morning dew upon bare feet and the slap of a damp hem on her ankles as she ran, holding up her skirts and petticoats to keep up with her brother's long running gait. Chill mornings when she could see her breath fading quickly with the sun into warm afternoons. Darkness falling and the glitter of thousands of fireflies. Falling asleep under the birch trees with a book in her lap and the birdsong in the canopy._

“God,” she whispered, gently and prudently disengaging with the tiny Omega. “You are absolutely heavenly, little dove.”

Victoria's eyes were glazed and her mouth was curled into a nearly delirious smile as if Ash's mere scent had addled her greatly. She sighed and blinked slowly before she shuffled her way to the berth and slipped off her boots, crawling onto the counterpane and then burying her face in the pillows.

“Oh, lord...” the Omega groaned. “You are...you are _everywhere._ ”

“Ah,” Ash grinned. “I suppose you had not needed to scent from the source. My pillows should have been quite enough. Are you settling in for a nap then, little one?”

“Will you not join me?”

Oh that damned Omega was going to destroy her sanity. “I hardly believe it would be appropriate—”

Victoria turned on the bed to lay upon her back, her arms tucked against her chest. “You are perhaps right. But if I am to stay here in the case of a heat, are you to be as uncomfortable as you were the last time? Crumpled in a chair?”

“If that is what is required of me, yes,” she replied matter-of-factly, turning to answer the knock that came upon the door. She collected Victoria's extra set of clothes and also a note that the lovely young maid, Miss Walker, handed to her. Opening it, she read it quickly and then asked the Beta to wait until she could pen a response. With a scrap of parchment, she scribbled in barely-legible writing her answer, folding it and tucking it carefully in the maid's palm, casting her a meaningful glance pleading for secrecy. She turned around to find Victoria staring at her with a questioning gaze. “Your clothes, little one.”

“If I am to go into heat, I wish this time for me to be naked.”

_My God. I'm going to go mad._

“Is that so? You will have a much better time of it, of course.” She tried as best she could to swallow every bit of the huskiness that was rising in her voice. “Though I am uncertain that you should go into heat this time. You did have quite a shock but with my arrival so soon and your calmness at my scent, perhaps that will stop the heat from coming.”

“Is such a thing possible?”

“Anything is possible, dove.”

The Omega was pensive, her brows just slightly furrowing in the middle. “I like that, Captain. I believe I shall try to remember it. _Anything is possible._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What kind of roundabout, weird-ass marriage proposal is this?


	10. Chapter 10

Although anything could have been possible, it had, in the end, been determined that Victoria's ability to avoid a heat had been somewhat _improbable_. She had fallen into a deep and tranquil slumber among the Alpha's pillows only to wake and find that she had soaked through her trousers and the counterpane, a pervading ache pulsing between her legs. Already surrounded by Ash's scent upon waking, she mewled wantonly, amazed that the sound had been emitted by her own throat. She took huge gulps of air from the silk around her and her hands shook when she fumbled with the buttons of her waistcoat, saliva dripping in strings, cold against the backs of her pale hands.

Ash, snoozing in one of the heavy mahogany chairs, came awake fluidly with a hard breath in through her nose.

“Oh darling,” she murmured, leaning forward to assist Victoria's fight against her clothes. “Relax. Allow me to help you.”

The relief that washed through her felt like a dam breaking open and at Ash's words, she felt another flow of slippery liquid escape her while she panted against her fever. Every bit of her modesty seemed to crumble while she was divested of her waistcoat and she found that she was minutely aware of every second that it took for Ash to begin unfastening the buttons of her shirt. The soft ripples of the fabric over her skin from the movement of the Alpha's fingers were some sort of bizarre pleasurable torture and she could not help but to toss her head back, the muscles in her neck suddenly weak to the weight of it, a sighing moan loosed from her lungs. The fabric slid apart and was pulled down from her shoulders, leaving her sitting up and trembling on Ash's bed with her trousers on and her small, pale breasts bared and heaving with her pants.

“ _Alpha_ ,” she rasped.

“Shh, dove,” Ash murmured, swallowing hard. Her hands came to Victoria's shoulders and she was pushed down into the pillows, her skin tingling with tiny sparks wherever the Captain touched her. Her shoulder. Her elbow. Her wrist.

_Her wrist!_

Her eyes flew open and she gasped suddenly when she found that Ash had secured her left wrist to the headboard. She screamed and snarled angrily, pulling and struggling hard against the other woman's might. Unable to overcome the Alpha, she tried kicking but was unsuccessful, her other wrist also bound while she writhed and flopped upon the counterpane, shrieking like some kind of wild animal. She was beyond words, beyond sense. All she could know was the fever that leeched at her and the hard pulse of need that pounded between her thighs. She needed _Alpha_. She was to be denied everything that was fair and right and entirely necessary to her well-being and she should think that she would _die_ without it. Even as she was kicking, the Captain managed to remove her trousers and once freed, she spread her thighs, boldly presenting herself with the hope that her scent would overwhelm her Alpha and set her blood alight.

“Alpha!” she cried, her vision hazy, her eyes rolling back. She fought for control but lost every battle, even when cold compresses were applied to her forehead and her chest. She was constantly making noises. Heavy breaths, unrestrained mewls, and mumbled pleas for her Alpha. _Her Alpha._

Without a touch, she was lost to sense, able only to plead, weep, and cry out for her Alpha to help her, to caress her. She knew not how long she stayed in such a state, her feeble moments of clarity consumed by her endless thirst.

When she was, at length, able again to clear at least some of the haze, she found that she was covered, at least, by a thin sheet that was sodden about her hips just as much as the spread below her. She turned her head to find that Ash was not in the chair but curled upon the floor, covered in a quilt with a solitary pillow to comfort her. It must have been night, she thought dimly, and she shook her head in an effort to dispel the fog of her heat. When she shifted, the Alpha awoke with a sudden gasp in through her nose, sitting up with tendrils of her rich hair snaking out of her messy bun.

“Dove,” Ash muttered. “Some water?”

“No...” she sighed.

“Perhaps a morsel or two? You have only sipped broth. Are you clear of mind?”

Victoria raised her gaze to her wrists, sore and red where she was bound but not from the quality of the fabric—from her own struggling to wrench free. Her body felt heavy and she yearned for something intangible. A fulfillment of some kind that was just as much emotional as it was physical. “Alpha...” she breathed.

“My name is Ash,” the Captain countered, affectionately brushing her fingers through Victoria's short hair.

She swallowed hard. “A-Ash.”

“Yes, dove.”

“It feels as though I should die...I need...” she frowned. “I need...something...”

The Captain was smiling ruefully. “You need a hearty meal, little one.”

“Is the cook on board or will you send for something from the house? Please do not let Ivan see me like this, though he must be sympathetic.” She felt shame cross into her emotions, common it was during times such as these.

“I fear that it would be a tad difficult for Ivan to come see you. I apologize for not leaving enough time for you to express your farewell but in the interest of keeping you safe, I've set a course for England. You been in the grip of this mighty heat for three days, dove, and two of them we've been at sea.”

Alarm filled her. “What?! Days?” It could not possibly have been _days_. Surely the Alpha must be speaking in jest. Her stress must have brought about her natural heat early and oh, what a disaster that could have been had she not insisted on boarding _Apollo_. She lost her ability to speak, rendered silent by the horror of what could have become of her.

“Be still, little Omega, you are safe.”

She trusted that Ash spoke true, even as she watched the Captain shiver with every breath and tremble in need. The prolonged exposure to Victoria's heat had certainly taken its toll. The Alpha was pale and there were dark rings under her eyes. She was tired and vexed. Still, Victoria felt an edge in her gut.

“I am not safe,” she murmured.

Ash stared at her.

“I am in danger, Captain. My own heart will kill me if you do not touch me. I will surely die of this horrible sickness.”

“If I am to touch you, you will have been compromised...”

“Do you not plan to have me as your mate? If we are to return to England, am I not to be your wife? What care have you if I am compromised by yourself? Please,” she sobbed, “Please. I am yours.”

Ash knelt at her bedside, felled by her words. “Tiny, sweet, lovely Omega,” she breathed, “You cannot speak to me thusly. You are not of sound mind. You cannot make these statements. After all, you cannot be held accountable for them after you have come back to your sense.”

Victoria felt anger slice through the fog. “I am not lost of my mind, Captain. I am perfectly sensible. If I am to be your wife, which I am...am I not?”

“I wish for that,” Ash replied.

“You _wish_ for that?” She gave a brief shake to her head. “Then you shall have to simply _ask_.”

The Alpha opened her mouth, stunned. “I...I could not possibly ask when you are in the midst of your heat, little dove. That is irresponsible. You could very well come to regret your answer and your actions.”

Her frustrations came to a head and she gave an angered shriek, pulling hard against the linen. “Let me out of these bonds, Alpha, so that I may _murder you!_ ”

“Please calm yourself, Victoria.”

“I will most certainly _not_ be soothed. I will refuse. This torture is nothing short of malicious and I will not stand for it. Do you hear me, Alpha?” She could feel the poison in her mouth. “I _will_ marry you, Ash Neverell. I will marry you and I will bear you as many pups as you could ever wish for. I will strut about in pretty gowns with feathers in my hair at every season just to let you gloat about the claim upon my neck if you wish. I will do it and I will do it with all the warmth my heart has to offer so please, _please..._ ”

Ash stared at her, shaking. “I-I...I cannot mate you, little dove. But I will touch you, if you are absolutely certain.”

“I have never been so certain,” she groaned, yelping with a hard shudder when she felt the tingle and rush of Ash's fingertips on the flesh of her neck.

The Captain's quivering did not stop with her tender touches and even became more intense as they traveled. The blazing trails that were left by her bare fingers drew deep, meaningful moans from Victoria's body, even just the mere hope of more leaving her utterly unhinged with lust. Ash's bare palm slid over her chest and down her breastbone, pulling the sheet with her wrist until she had bared all of the Omega's upper body, her cool hand curving about in order to caress the side of her, tickling over her ribcage before drawing up to delicately frame and then envelope one small breast. Victoria hissed with pleasure at the way Ash's fingers rubbed at her turgid nipple and she yelped when the contact was abruptly taken.

She was about to protest when she found that the Alpha was quickly shedding her shirt, dropping it to the floor to be left in just her trousers and the loose bindings that contained her breasts. From what Victoria understood, an Alpha in rut was just as annoyed by friction as an Omega in heat and it was no doubt relieving to have been rid of the annoying bit of cloth. It wasn't long before she was back, ducking her large frame into the berth where she quickly dove with shuddering breaths to cast her tongue over Victoria's breasts.

“ _Oh, Ash!_ ”

Her chest heaved while the Alpha straddled her, sucking and licking over her with a desperate fervor. She could barely hear Ash's breathy moans over the roaring of her own passion in her ears. When Ash's mouth trailed cool saliva down into the dip of her ribs and the sheet was pulled from her so the Captain could press wet kisses down her belly, Victoria writhed and wriggled, parting her legs until Ash had caught the underside of one thigh in her hand.

“Victoria,” Ash moaned, her breath puffing hard just below the Omega's navel.

The sound of her name spoken in such passion from her Alpha's lips was enough to force her to bow her back, her hips angling upward in a plea for mercy. Whiteness invaded her senses when she felt the softness of Ash's breath over the damp curls between her thighs and she could not even fathom the ability to breathe when she was suddenly touched there.

_Opened there._

“ _Alpha!_ ” she shrieked. Her attempts to close her legs were thwarted by Ash's strong grip on them and her back arched severely while her pleasure edged and heightened until she felt as if she were going to explode. There came a point, as Ash's tongue flicked and dipped into the hidden pink of her virginal flower, where Victoria was uncertain whether or not what she was experiencing was classified more as pleasure or pain. What she could not abide, nevertheless, was the concept that it could halt at any moment. She screamed, not a single inch of her mind and soul spared from this onslaught of intimate attention. Beyond words, beyond comprehension, she felt herself stutter into some great rise while her body convulsed, deep pulsing waves shocking her with their incredible magnitude.

Her eyes were tight shut while her screams silenced and she turned her head into her shoulder and the soft pillow beneath her. Weeping with something she thought was gratitude, she was quiet while Ash sat up between her legs, running her palms up and down over Victoria's thighs, the comforting gesture meant to ease her back from her journey into oblivion.

“Victoria,” Ash crooned. “You are so lovely.”

She kept her eyes closed and her head turned, overcome by everything that had happened to her.

“You are the Queen of my heart. There can be no sun in my sky without you, Victoria. I shall hold the taste of you upon the lips of my memory for the rest of my life.”

“Oh,” she gasped, “Oh no...please...”

“No?”

She wished she could cover her face with her hands. “I cannot believe you put your _mouth_ on...”

A deep feminine rumble escaped the Alpha above her. “You cannot tell me that you did not enjoy what I did to you. Your sweetness is undeniable and your peak was enviable, indeed. If you would entertain me, little dove, I should wish to put my mouth to you whenever you would ask it of me.”

She was still panting in the wake of her release. “Is this what it means? To be ruined?”

Ash snickered, prompting Victoria to open her eyes and gaze up at her. “Not _entirely_ ruined. I have not mated you...”

“The pleasure of mating must be simply unbearable if that is what I can expect from your mouth upon me.” She sighed, unable to consider it possible.

Ash gave a shrug. “It is a different sort of pleasure. Perhaps not as jarring for some as for others.”

“You have...?” Victoria was suddenly curious, her ache to be _filled_ forgotten and the edge from her heat wearing away.

The Captain seemed bashful suddenly, still smoothing her palms up and down Victoria's thighs. “When I was a young woman and I was aboard a certain ship I shall not name for it is still upon the waters, I was first mate to an Alpha Captain who was a dashing sort of lad. He was older than I by perhaps a score or so and he thought it rousing to raise my ire. I have to admit, I rather liked the verbal sparring and there were a few nights of drink when I ended up in his quarters.”

“An Alpha?” she squeaked. “With another Alpha? That is...”

“Bizarre,” Ash interrupted, her cheeks pink. “Believe me, there were none more perplexed than the two of us when we found ourselves tangled together.”

“And it was...pleasurable for you?”

“It was.” She cleared her throat, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. “Should you like some water, little dove? You must be thirsty. If I am to put you through the same delicious torment for the rest of your heat, I think you will need to keep up your strength. To endure such a thing would be madness if you were not properly treated.”

She gasped. “You are to d-do it ag-again!?”

The poor Alpha's shoulders were still trembling with an unslaked rut. “If you so require it to regain your sense, of course.”

“Oh lord,” she whispered toward her bonds. “I surely hope you were honest about becoming my mate, Captain. I do not think I should ever be able to live without your affections.”

The Alpha laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot progression? What's that? Fuck that. (But also _fuck_ that, you know?)
> 
> Comments or questions are encouraged and appreciated.


	11. Chapter 11

In all of her life, Ash had never once experienced something so traumatic as having such a profound and inexplicably corrosive sense of honor. She had stayed with the tiny Omega for the whole length of her heat and had, in those unbearable moments, tasted her sublime sweetness and given her every comfort she could.

_That's a damned lie._

Alright, she conceded. She could have done more. She could have mated her and what would the difference have been in the long-run? It came down to what her father would say. What her father might do. As much as she understood that Victoria must have had a substantial dowry, it would most likely prove insufficient in the long-run for their needs. They were going to be at the mercy of the Duke and to arrive at the doorstep with a runaway debutante who's been bonded out of wedlock was perhaps one of the more _disappointing_ things she could do in the nobleman's eyes. His reaction was far from predictable. The solution was tricky.

She walked the length of the deck and then back to the helm where she clasped her hands behind her back and stood next to Malto, her feet apart and her back straight. Her helmsman glanced at her over his shoulder with a quizzical expression.

“ _Qualcosa non va?_ ”

Ash sniffed and looked down at her boots for a moment. “No. Nothing.”

His speech was heavily accented and he shrugged. “Your little _amata_. She is well? You are free?”

“Her heat is over, yes. I trust that I do not reek of her badly?”

“No.” He paused for a moment, tipping the wheel a little. “She needs some fresh air, _Capitano_. You bring her to the deck? Hard to breathe after heat. Small room.”

“Yes,” she felt her cheeks color. “You're right. She could use some ocean air.”

Victoria was receptive to the idea and, at Ash's urging, left the cabin in a simple outfit of only a shirt, trousers, and boots as anything tighter would have most likely become overwhelming so soon after her heat. She was quiet as the Alpha led her to the deck and she was keen to stay close to Ash's side, her small fingers gently curled upon the Captain's arm as they wandered over the deck in order to peer out over the expanse of seemingly limitless sea. Her quietness was fairly typical for an Omega after a particularly distressing episode and considering the cause and the events therein, Ash was not surprised in the least that it would take the debutante a little time to come to terms with the things she had asked for and what she had done. After all, she had never before experienced an Alpha between those milky white thighs and the memory of her desperation must have been quite nettlesome.

“Are you cold, little one? The wind can be a little much.”

Victoria looked upward, her attention caught by the full-bellied sails and the flapping colors. When those clear eyes came back, she murmured her response. “No. It is very comfortable.” She cast her stare out toward the sea and her voice was almost dreamy. “The ocean looks so beautiful today. I had not known what time it was. It seems silly to lose track of something so important, does it not? I found myself hoping that it might be closer to evening. I should like one day to see the sunset over the sea.”

“Not such a farfetched goal, dove,” she smiled. “You shall see it tonight. Every night until we are in Bristol if you wish.”

“Truly?”

“Of course. Anything, Victoria.”

She fell silent again, her fingers tightening against the Alpha's sleeve.

Ash blathered uselessly while they stared out toward the Eastern horizon. “I hope Carlton was not too intrusive when he took the bedding and replaced it. I apologize for not having been there. The crew had done exceptionally well without me but there is a limit to their patience. Malto has a firm hand and his English is getting better but when there is a Captain on board, it is difficult for them to accept his and Carlton's authority. Though,” she quirked a brow, “they would typically learn their respect if the cat made an appearance.” She stopped, her next sentence lost in her throat when she felt Victoria's head gently lean against her arm.

 _Apollo_ flew through the calm waters while soft wisps of white clouds coasted overhead. It had not rained since they had left Charleston and from the navigator's reports, they were making great time. The only ship that they had encountered had been a whaling expedition and from the look of the poor souls aboard, they had not been very successful in their chase. She had given her men explicit instructions to tell her if a ship came into sight from the rear as it could only mean one thing with _Apollo_ running at such a pace.

“Once we are in port, I will take you immediately to my father's estate in Somerset. When I was growing up, I swear to you that I honestly believed that every child grew up with such luxury and now, I can only think of his estate as being positively ludicrous. Do you ride, dove?”

“Yes, I do love horses.”

“Then you will adore Wellton. The stables are something of a treasure and he's always got a sturdy, well-trained mare housed for my mother. She loves to ride but she is terrified of being thrown. Her brother died in such a way and it has haunted her ever since. I would be delighted to ride with you.”

Those pale fingers tightened again just slightly.

“I will, of course, have to apply for a special marriage license. I intend to marry you as soon as possible so that I might bond you to rid you of any potential stress and to rid myself of the possibility for challenge.”

Victoria's scent altered and Ash only barely caught the whiff of her anxiety in the breeze. “Why can you not simply bond me upon the ship? Would that not be less risky?”

“Perhaps,” she replied, “But then perhaps not. I have disappointed my father enough for my lifetime. To arrive with a runaway debutante who has been bondmarked out of wedlock could perhaps bring our chances for support to ruin. There is no doubt that we are well-matched, it is simply the circumstances of our meeting that is under suspicion. I do not want to give him reason to dislike you. You understand.”

There was absolutely nothing in Victoria's scent or posture that suggested she understood in the slightest. She was tense and anxious and it was obvious that she did not prefer to wait.

“Do not worry, my love. The Duke will love you. So will my mother. There will be no reason to think that they should object to our union at all.”

“It is not all that. It is just that if my mother were to find out about us before we were bonded...”

“You are worried that she will come between us?”

“She has promised me to Mr. Swophill.”

“Then I will simply marry you quickly. If I am to show my face in London ever again, I must marry you first. I am certain there will be plenty of soft conversations about our bond in the parlors of London but it will be less worthy of derision if we are at least witnessed by the Church.” She turned toward the tiny woman at her side and slid the pad of her thumb over one rosy cheek. “If that bastard Swophill dared to come for you, I would be certain to hold him down while you cut out his heart. That is, if you so desired.”

In a shocking motion, Victoria took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Ash's waist, embracing her tightly.

“I suppose,” the Alpha murmured, “that one day you should tell me some of the details behind your flight. Had he hurt you, little one? Should I be plotting his end this very minute?”

This prompted the Omega to back away, taking Ash's hand in hers and leading her back down to the companionway, her footsteps much more sure, her sea legs fully formed. Once they were alone together in the Captain's quarters, Victoria let go of her hand and paced back and forth, her brows knitted. “My cousin had told me that my dowry would find me in the unenviable position of _bait_. It turned out to be quite true. Though my father and plenty of other fathers thought that it was surely a way to find a Lord to marry me, it was only the unscrupulous of Lords who sought me. Those with high gambling debts or poor investments. Mr. Swophill has a weakness for cards.” She glanced up at the Alpha and sighed. “He was much too charming. My mother was smitten. He would come for parties and he would dance with me at every season ball. He was treated well by the society papers and of course, that was all my mother would consider. His reputation was good and he was to be titled eventually.”

Ash sat herself down on the edge of the berth. “And you were promised away.”

“It took a little convincing for my mother but she eventually gave in to his suggestions that we marry. I had not wished it. My cousin had informed me and I had heeded the warning. I did not want him.”

“So they set out to force you.”

She turned away toward the mirror and stared at herself in the light from the small window and the lamp that burned in the corner. With a hand through her short blonde hair, she sighed again. “She invited him for dinner at the estate and they had staged it that he would have to stay for some time. I knew all of it from the servants. They had listened from under the stairs and of course, everyone talks. There is not a stitch of a secret that one can keep from the staff.”

“They loved you very much.”

Sharp tones of sorrow filled the cabin. “They are probably in the gutter because of it. They knew he was to make a move but they did not know when. It must have been the night I left. My mother no doubt had hoped that he would be able to charm me into a seduction but of course, there was no hope of such. He was going to...” She paused, shuddering. “Well I'm sure I don't know what.”

“I'm certain you do,” Ash whispered more to herself, sickened by the thought.

“He is adamant that I will be his, Captain. He is in a large amount of debt and a marriage to me was to save him from ruin. If you are to mark me before we are to leave the ship...” She turned around, her wide blue eyes hopeful.

“I apologize, little one,” Ash replied. “I would do nearly anything for you. But I will not do that. I will not mate you or bond you until you are properly married to me.”

Victoria's shoulders fell. It would no doubt be in the Omega's best interests to be mated as soon as possible. If she could not disappear into the wilderness of America, she was only to be safe if she was kept away from the bastard who wished harm.

Victoria spoke, her voice soft. “I do not wish to seem ungrateful to you, Alpha. I am simply so frightened.”

“You are safe with me, little one. Come. Lay with me. At least for a time. We shall watch the sun set together tonight if you wish.” She put out her arms and was delighted when Victoria came to her and allowed her to lead her into the berth. Ash curled around the small woman, holding her tight into a circle of warmth and comfort. She did her best to whisper small sweet nothings into her hair and to tune her body in to the undercurrent of thrumming emotion that coursed through the tiny Omega. She was, in the end, _made_ for this. She was made to comfort, protect, and bond with one true mate and she was under the pressure of no doubts.

Victoria was her mate. Marked or not, there could be no other who could touch her without severe retribution. The ardency of her resolve was, she thought, fairly normal. Swophill perhaps thought the same. She wondered, heavily, before she fell into a light slumber, if in England she would be forced to borrow Malto's pistol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of a bummer of a day yesterday but hey. At least I got a chapter done.


	12. Chapter 12

It was a wonder that Ash did not seem to think her a complete and utter tart. She had been so absolutely wanton and shameless. Once she had gained the knowledge of how it felt to be lavished with the attentions of the Alpha's lips and tongue, that giddy and remarkable shuddering pleasure that came from such a simple touch, she had been desperate for it. It was so strange, she knew, that she had felt the Captain's lips upon her so intimately and still had yet to feel them in a kiss.

She stood with Ash on the deck, watching the sun sink down into the western horizon. She had seen a few sunsets since she had expressed the desire to see one and each was more brilliant and colorful than the last. She was often drawn to the sight of the brilliant colorful hues in the sky and had to hold on to Ash's arm lest she find herself tripping while they wandered over the deck. It would not do for her to stumble clear over the sides of the boat into the ocean just because she was so enamored by the colors of the sky over the deep, dark waters of the ocean.

 _The ocean_. She stared at the line where the water and the sky kissed and pressed against each other. During the day, they were blue and sometimes the difference was so slight and her eyes were so tricked by them that it was nearly impossible to tell where one started and the other began. Sometimes it was a matter of how brilliant the sky could be and how the ocean sometimes held just the slightest tinge of gray. Everything about it reminded her of her Captain. Her Captain who had finally found a moment to sit down and have her hair braided again, who didn't seem to mind that a few small snaking tendrils of auburn had escaped from the simple coiffure to frame her beautiful face.

She did not know how many days they had been at sea but she knew that England could not be far. It meant that she would be whisked away in a carriage and taken to a manor and hidden on the grounds with so many people she did not know, hoping to God that she would not be found by her mother before she was to be wed and bonded.

 _Stubborn Alphas_ , she thought angrily, suddenly dropping her hand from Ash's arm.

“Are you alright, dove?” came that deep feminine query from above her.

“I am fine,” she replied stiffly, knowing that she could not fool the Alpha's keen sense of smell.

“Clearly, you are not.”

“Must you always be so forthright? Is there not a moment where you would be content to let me enjoy being cross?”

The Captain started, drawing up with confusion in her scent. “Enjoy being—? I beg pardon?”

“I cannot explain it to you, Alpha. You would not possibly come to understand it with the words I have at my disposal. I have already stated my wish to be bonded aboard your ship and you will not do so. I am _cross_ and I am content to remain so.” There was no logical need for such foolishness. She did not want to be in danger any longer than she had to be and she was in _love_ with the damned Alpha, what more complication could there possibly be?

Ash chuckled incredulously, a sound that further cemented Victoria's foul mood. “A few seconds ago, I was standing on deck with my future wife and everything was perfectly settled and in but a wink you've managed to turn it all upon its head. If a man were to tell me that Omegas were fickle, I should only look to this moment to confirm the claim. I thought we had decided—”

“ _I_ decided nothing. As I never seem able to decide anything in my life. _You_ have decided that you will not mark me or bond with me until we are witnessed. I am in _danger_.”

“Do you truly wish to be my mate, little dove? We are but hours from reaching England and it is _now_ that you choose to doubt yourself? If you are so averse to the notion, I know not what to do with you. I am unwilling to allow you to place yourself in danger and I cannot threaten to leave you at your mother's doorstep. Are you so in fear of being raped that you would throw yourself beneath me? I was warned of such by Masterson when he told me not to force you to my bed through fear, that I should find the notion entirely unpalatable. He was, of course, correct. Is it your fear of Swophill and your mother that has thrown you to me?”

Victoria could have been undone by the sorrow that had suddenly choked her in the Alpha's scent and the hard sadness that had darkened her amber eyes. Still, she surprised herself in her own answer. “I am tossed into the wind and caught by some over-protective, self-righteous Alpha who inserts herself into my private affairs and whom offers a solution that is in her own self-interest, that is, her love for me, and she is to claim that her meddling is not of any kind _manipulation_? You have done nothing except manipulate me, Captain! It is as though I were a bird suddenly caught in mid-flight by a hungry cat. I escaped one Alpha only to fall into the trap of another. However plush and comforting and however much I have come to...to _love you_ , I am, no doubt, desperate. _Now_ you are to question this desperation! _Now_ you are to act as if _you_ are the victim?!” She stomped her tiny foot on the planks of the deck, her fists at her sides. “Inconceivable, Captain! All of it! Incredible!”

With that, she grumbled her way back to the Captain's quarters and slammed the door shut, hoping that her angry words would somehow sink in. She _was_ desperate but was that not what Ash had been expecting? Was that not what she had wanted from the start? That was what the whole matter had been _about_. She had known from the start that it was fear that was to drive her toward a life with another Alpha...that it was fear that was to place a mark upon her neck. How could Ash have ever thought it was to be elsewise?

_And my only other option was to be dropped in Port Royal with a mark upon my neck and a hole in my heart._

She had been bound at length by the Captain's misplaced obligation and then by this insane notion of _love_ that was almost forced upon her. Still, _still_ she felt it inside her, filling her with warmth and admiration and a need to be close and to apologize to her Alpha.

_Her Alpha!_

Unbelievable. She was in love with this Alpha and though she knew that they were not all the same, she was disturbed by their similarities when all was said and done. They were adamant that they were to get whatever they wished by whatever means necessary and some were simply more round-about than others. That was the truth, she thought while jerked the bell cord hard to summon Carlton.

He arrived and was slightly out of breath, asking in a light tone what he could fetch for her. When the response was tea, he flitted off easily and returned almost immediately, setting down a pot and two china cups with their saucers.

“I will not require another setting,” she snipped petulantly. “The Captain will not be joining me.”

Carlton smirked. He'd gotten his beard trimmed while they had been docked but he'd retained his scruff, the feature providing him with a fatherly countenance. “Oh wee lass,” he mused, “This other setting isn't for the Captain. It's for me.” He then promptly sat down and poured his cup, motioning with a polite hand for her to sit in the opposite chair.

She regarded him suspiciously, crossing her arms over the breast of her waistcoat. “I did not request company.”

“You don't have to, girl. That is, if you don't mind bein' called such. Am I to call you Mr. Howe? Far be it from me to judge you for it.”

“My name is Victoria. You can call me Miss Lanchester.”

“Aye. Miss Lanchester, then. You don't have to request my presence and you've no say in my bein' here. I'm a free man and you're a free woman and you'd best sit down and have your tea while I tell you a little story.”

“I am uninterested in your tales, Mr. Carlton.” She sniffed resolutely.

“Omega,” he sighed, “Sit down.”

“To the devil with you.”

A smirk played with the corners of his mouth. “As you wish then.” He took a sip of his tea and leaned back in his seat, no less pleased with himself than he was before. “I'm no stranger to the sea, Miss Lanchester. I've been a sailor for over twenty years. I've sung my shanties, I've learned the ropes, and I've felt the sting of the whip on my back.”

She shivered and hoped the small movement went unnoticed.

“The crimps and the masters will sell you to the highest bidding shippers and they'll take your heart and soul while they're at it. They'll trick you and welch on their deals no matter the issue. You have a hungry wife to feed and your children starving back at home and they'll cosh you over the head and sign your body away for the next 'orrible Captain who comes about. Profits, Miss Lanchester. Profits are where their blackened hearts are set.” He paused taking another sip of his tea and setting one ankle upon the other knee, smiling at her. “My wife left me for a farmer and my children didn't want to see me no more. She said the sea would be my grave and she hoped I'd see it afore long. Charming woman, she was.”

Victoria trembled and this time she was certain he noted it.

“The lads are always talking about the Captains who are fair and just. The ones who'll make you the most money. Who are steadfast and strong and have a mind for what's best for their men. I'd made myself a rule, Miss Lanchester. It's a rule that many a man will follow when on the sea. That there was not a single day that I would spend under the whip of a woman.”

She squeaked, suddenly shocked. “A woman? Is there no place we can be free from the prejudice of men?”

He chuckled. “There was a tavern in Port Royal and there was an Italian gent singing a shanty and banging his way through it on the piano. O'course we were heavily liquored but the lyrics were all in gibberish. Half way through the song, he stops and sloshes his beer about and claims in heavily broken English that he has just come from Genoa with the most dashing and compassionate of Captains that had ever sailed upon the open waters.” He raised his bushy brows for effect. “He says, ' _È come una luna brillante tra le stelle sull'acqua_ ' and he still says it whenever he is drunk and there are men who will listen to him. But I would not sail under a woman.”

“And so how did you come to be here?” Victoria asked, forgetting some of her anger enough to sit across from the scruffy Beta, watching him carefully as he leaned forward to pour her tea.

“Fate, wee lass. I was being hounded by a crimp on the docks the very next morn when I was witness to a boy dragged along the dirt. There was a black bag over his head and they were fighting with him to pull him aboard a vessel. It was something one can see if sailors have done poorly in cards. They will bet their work, their lives, and the masters and Captains, they will take them. By force, sometimes, to appease their debts.” He shook his head. “Alphas are the worst for it. They think they are invincible. They think they have the world at their feet.”

Victoria sipped her tea, her eyes wide upon the nostalgia in Carlton's smile.

“He fought them hard with all his strength and finally the one of them decided that it was not as worth it to have him aboard. I'd truly thought he was to kill the lad. There on the docks with a black sac o'er his head, he was going to die all for a simple game of cards.” The Beta shrugged. “But he didn't. They'd drawn a crowd and there was one voice among them loud and frightening and so plainly _a woman_ that there was a pause and she took him. She bought his papers and took him aboard her ship to save his fool life.”

“And you went to her?”

“I was fairly signed aboard her ship and there was that Italian at the helm.”

Victoria smiled, the rest of her frustration dissipating. “Malto.”

“That's right, lass. I was shocked for a while when I found out the man was a serious gent when he wasn't filled to the brim with spirits. The boy was frightened and indignant. He was adamant that it was not his fate to have been shanghaied and to be traded off to a _woman_ and it was not to be born.” He leaned forward and chuckled again, the edges of his eyes crinkling. “We were such fools, were we not? She nearly now has a crew that is constant with more than half of us still aboard even after she stopped making runs into the Orient. We are not rich but we are not poor and there is nothing more we could hope for than to sail under her.”

“And the boy?”

“You've met him.”

Victoria narrowed her eyes.

“For a moment, I understand. You'd been introduced.”

“Frederick Masterson,” she blurted.

“Freddie. Yes. And I, who had thought that I would toss myself before a carriage rather than sail again for how it had ruined me, was saved in part or in whole by the wretched and lovely Captain Neverell.”

She felt her frustrations well up again while she took a hasty gulp of her tea. “And what is the point of all of this?”

“That _loyalty_ and _love_ ,” he quipped, “are not always born of freedom of choice.” He gulped the rest of his tea down and stood up, giving her a slight bow. “If you'll excuse me, Miss Lanchester. We should be reaching England tomorrow morning and I must be off to assist the men. Do you wish for me to send you the Captain or will you allow her to suffer?”

She frowned and gave a tiny scoff. “Oh for God's sake. Send her to me. But I swear to you that one day I will have my vengeance upon you for your meddling.”

He gave her another bow, this one deeper. “Very well, Miss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously don't have anything ready for when I go on vacation and this is a disaster. Hopefully around getting everything ready, I can write enough for at least two more updates. Laundry is a sit-down sport, right?
> 
> Shout out to PrettyCharlie who helped me determine the logistics of the next twist and turn (the slight spoilers were worth it, I'm sure).


	13. Chapter 13

It hadn't been difficult to figure the equation of how she had come back into Victoria's tentative favor and she had vowed to make it worth Carlton's while for having it so well as she was curled protectively around her sleeping Omega later in the evening. She revisited the notion as she saw him helping the other men unload some of their cargo down the gangway onto the docks. She had not been able to take very much back with her, the speed of their departure having stricken a blow to the amount that _Apollo_ had been able to ship. They had, nevertheless, managed to make it work with several shipments of tobacco and, as a bizarre novelty, a bit of Charleston's _tea_. It would make up for the trip without much in the line of profits. She wasn't concerned much for profits anyhow. She would be leaving the ship in her moorings only for a few days to pack it full of whatever shipments could be devised and she would leave it to Malto and Carlton to pilot them safely.

The port of Bristol was bustling with activity and she felt her Omega practically painted to her side, her scent almost entirely masked by Ash's, the sweetness of it still only barely discernible underneath. Dozens of different languages met her ears along with the creak and patter over the wooden boards that jutted out toward the sea. The crowds were so terrible that she was shocked that she was able to pick out the voices of her own crew around the din that arose from a mid-morning port.

Victoria's voice was meek but clear. “I have never been to Bristol. It stinks.”

“Any port will stink, dove,” she smiled.

“I had not noticed such a stench in Liverpool,” she explained. “But I have to admit, I could only smell _you_.”

Her pride welled and she felt herself flush with contentment. Staring down at the little Omega by her side, she almost found it unbelievable that she could have ever been so blind as to not see how she could have been felled easily by a mate. When she had foresworn romance for the rest of her days after this disaster of her presentation...how could she have been so presumptuous as to assume that an Omega would never defeat her?

_Defeat?_

The word was at once both correct and disturbingly inaccurate.

An unfamiliar voice rang out through the crowd.

“Captain Neverell! Captain!”

She turned about to find a slightly winded young Beta approaching her quickly, his cheeks red and mottled from his running.

“You are Neverell?”

“I am,” she replied, brows lifted.

He bowed deferentially. “My Lady, I've been sent to give you this message and to not allow any to read it but yourself. It is sent from His Grace, the Duke of Shireton and it is a matter of grave importance. I was to deliver it to you as soon as your feet were upon English soil.”

“A courier? How odd.” She took the offered envelope and impatiently tore at her father's seal, pulling open the parchment and quickly scanning over the scrawled, almost unintelligible lines.

 

_My Dearest Daughter,_

_I am regretful to inform you that a matter of some sadness has brought darkness over our family. Your brother has taken to his bed, inflicted by that terrible consumption. Some days he is of high spirits but the physician does not hold high hopes for his eventual recovery. They have prescribed him with sunshine and fresh air but it seems no good. His morale is in danger, I fear, and it is my opinion that your visit should bring him much happiness._

_If John is not to recover from this illness, I refuse to be utterly deprived by the event. I insist that you return to the estate in order to discuss this matter at length and provide a guiding hand for your younger siblings who are now lost without the strength of their honorable brother._

_I hope that this letter finds you well and that your arrival will not come too late._

_Your Loving Father,_

_Shireton_

 

“Ash?” Victoria asked, concern evident in her tone.

She took a deep breath and held it, folding up the letter and stuffing it into the pocket of her trousers, giving the courier a level stare. “ _Beta_ ,” she demanded with a clear and cutting _Alpha_ voice, “ _do not let this Omega leave your sight._ ”

He stiffened and bowed to her again, gasping out, “Of course not, My Lady. Anything you wish.”

Her mind was boiling over. John. Her beloved younger brother being felled by consumption was not a thought she would easily entertain. Surely this was some kind of ruse her father would use to—no. Her father was not so devious. He was not so _cruel_. If he were to falsify any illness, it should not be of her brother. It should be of himself. She turned about, pulling herself from the Omega's grasp and hurrying up the gangway to the deck, insistent in her thoughts that she should find Carlton immediately. As she walked below deck, she nervously wiped her palms on her trousers, feeling that foreboding sinking feeling in her gut weighing her down. There were too many memories she held dear for John to be taken from her so ruthlessly and she was not going to accept that she may already be too late to see him. Perhaps there was something she could do...

 _Do not be ridiculous,_ she chided herself. _If it is consumption, there is nothing you can do._

She could see him. She could make him smile, at least. Perhaps the physicians were wrong. Perhaps there was something else that could be done. She didn't want to let that niggling hopelessness drown out her emotions so she quashed it and frowned at herself for even feeling the first tickle of it deep in her chest.

In the bowels of the ship, she found Carlton and several others of the crew who turned to her with alarm in their features, undoubtedly able to immediately scent her consternation. She pulled the Beta aside and brought him to her quarters, calmed only the slightest by the residual scent of her future wife. The day would not come soon enough when she could wake to that lovely scent every day of her life.

“Captain?” Carlton's voice was alert.

She reached into her pocket and handed him the letter. His eyes roved over it and his lips moved with the words.

“John?” he asked, “This is terrible. You should make great haste.”

“I want you to come with me, Carlton. I may need your stable mind and your mild presence. It would not hurt to have you and I will make sure the crew is not harmed by _Apollo_ 's being moored for longer than was required. I fear the worst.”

He nodded lightly. “I will accompany you, Captain, and I will do my best to make myself of some use. What do you think we will do once we are at Wellton? Was your brother not at your father's secondary estate? Do you think he shall have you run it?”

“I've no doubts about my father's motives. He will have no direct heir. My sisters, they are all Omegas. He will wish to will me his secondary estate and he will demand that I take upon the duties immediately.” She paced the small cabin.

Carlton shrugged. “Such an outcome would surely fit your own needs quite well. He should not take offense to your chosen mate and you would be able to make a substantial living on the estate's profits if you were to run it well. It is a shame to come upon good fortune at the expense of your brother, though...”

“The title will transfer, no doubt, to my nearest cousin, Olin and my father will wish for me to remain cared for in the event of John's...” She did not wish to say the word. She did not wish to entertain the idea that it was possible that her beloved younger brother was to expire or had even, at this very moment, already done so. It was simply not something she could imagine. He was huge. He was strong. He had kept her running after him at all times when they were children and when he had grown to be taller than she, she had been quite angered by the fact. Such nostalgia was warm and fond despite the sting of them at their time. She blinked. “There is one thing I _must_ do...” she whispered.

“And that is?” Carlton asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I must go and keep the girls away from John. They will wish to be by his bedside but as you and I have seen, the more they are to see him, the more likely it is that they will succumb as well. I must go to them and keep them from weakening themselves for care of him. I will take them to Eddington and to Eddington House where they will at least stand a chance.” She paced back and forth again and again. “And I shall tell Malto to stay with the ship and pilot her without you.”

“We have not sailed apart, Captain.” It was not an argument, she realized, but merely a statement.

“I recognize that. He is a strong helmsman and he will have a dutiful navigator. The men are loyal and if they have question, they may bring it up with me upon their return.”

“Of course,” Carlton murmured. “And Miss Lanchester?”

She blinked. “Miss...oh yes. Victoria.” She turned about and flung open the cabin door, striding purposefully with the Beta at her heels until she had crossed the deck and traversed the gangway to find—

Nothing.

She frowned, puzzled. Looking one way and then the other, she studied the bustling crowds for the fairly recognizable face of the courier that she had left on the dock. She sniffed, unable to capture the scent of her love over the acrid stench of the port and the mingling sourness of hundreds of Alpha sailors.

A soft and insurgent fury began as a tiny flame in her heart. She turned toward Carlton.

“He cannot have made it to England before me.”

Carlton tilted his head, his eyes narrowed and his nostrils flaring slightly to capture the weight of his Captain's anger, his own scent sharpening suddenly to a mild anxiety. “The letter could not have been a ruse, surely? I am certain a boy handed it to you?”

“Yes. A Beta, barely a man.” She whirled about again, scenting hard. “He would not have been able to take her so easily. She would have fought him. Swophill could _not_ have beaten us to England. Not with _Apollo_ at only half-capacity and at our high rate of speed. He could not have...”

“And the note?”

“In my father's hand. It could not have been a trick.” She felt walls crumbling within her. Once iron and forged in fire, they bent and crumbled with her weariness and guilt. She had left them there. She had left Victoria only in the sight of an untested Beta whose scent betrayed nothing and who was utterly unequipped to protect her if the need had arisen. He could have shouted. He could have run to get her...that is, if it had been possible. But Swophill...that was _not possible_. Not unless he had laid the trap long before they had even set sail from Charleston. Not if he had thought about what he might do if she had set back to sea without him. A band of brigands awaiting a scent on the docks. It was not entirely unheard of. She stared down at Carlton who had taken on a stance with his fists on his hips.

The Beta's voice had taken on an uncharacteristic hard edge. “Well, Captain? Are we going to keep mucking around with our thumbs in our arses or are we going to go get Malto and snap the heads right off o' these blasted devils which stole our little miss?”

Ash didn't reply and the two moved simultaneously back up the gangway to find the serious—and wrathful—Italian.

_God help me find them. And God help them when I do._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this short chapter literally half an hour before I'm being picked up to go on vacation. If something goes horribly wrong and I don't have wifi for a week (I will die) know that I had full intent to update even while on vacation. Because I don't know what "vacation" means.


	14. Chapter 14

If there was anything Victoria knew for absolute certain, it was that she had never been so angry in her entire life. Despite the fact, she was, she knew, remarkably stoic. With her jaw set, she held her unbound hands in her lap and glowered across the coach. The mild Beta scents that mingled together were all but overpowered by her strong and steady tone of fury that was pouring out of her continuously, in no way tainted by any other emotion. Not fear, nor frustration, nor anxiety. She was filled with nothing but rage and she allowed it to overtake her.

Her captor was atypically large for a Beta, his partner of a more reasonable size. The courier they'd coshed into unconsciousness was crumpled next to her, bleeding but breathing at least. The huge man who had grabbed her and stuffed her unceremoniously into the coach was staring at her while his smaller partner was picking at his fingernails with the tip of a blade. They had not interacted with each other enough for her to determine which one was the leader or if they were a perfect pair, the latter being more difficult to contend with. She didn't see any easy way out with diplomacy. She spared a glance to the poor courier and recognized the lengths the brutes would resort to.

She met the large Beta's eyes with her glare and he responded with a malicious grin, his voice soft and threatening.

"No questions, little one?"

She said nothing and did not react.

"Not going to ask who hired us? Of course not. Why should ye ask somethin' ye already know? O'course, when he spoke of ye, Hal and I fair thought the bloke had been describing a woman. Thought ye'd be trussed up in ribbons and pearls. Here ye are and not anything like he'd said save for those eyes and that scent."

The smaller of the duo piped up without even looking in her direction.

"Awful of you to run from yer husband, little one. Terrible sin, that is. Lucky 'e even took ye back. Could 'ave jus' 'ad us kill ye. Wouldn't be the first time we'd been asked for an unsavory task."

"He's not my husband." Her voice was clipped and sharp in the rocking coach. The third member of the bandits was a mere boy who drove the horses well, keeping the stallions under severe control as to keep a low profile.

"No?"

The big Beta looked down at Hal next to him. "Suppose 'e don't have a mark?" He shrugged. "How's the pay again?"

"Six hundred pounds for-"

Victoria let out a bark of unamused laughter, drawing their eyes. She leaned back against the hard wood of her seat and crossed one of her legs over the other, suddenly tickled through her fury. "And how, exactly, is Mr. Swophill supposed to pay you? I suppose if you haven't seen a penny yet, my mother had nothing to do with the transaction. Don't you know anything about the man you've dealt business with? He hasn't got a cent to his name! If you believe for even a moment that he'll have the means to pay you when I am delivered to him, you are sorely mistaken. He is not my husband. If he were, he would be quite rich indeed but the fact remains that he is not and as that is the case, he has not collected my dowry."

The pair stared at her, the smaller of them quirking a brow. "We will see what the bloke has to say about the whole deal when it comes time for him to pay. Else we'll kill him for his trouble and 'ave our fun with ye. 'Ave to give ye a scrub firs' o'course. Ye stink like some Alpha and I don't know the tastes of your 'usband, but I like me Omegas tight and fresh."

The bigger one chuckled saliciously and Victoria could have gagged. Still, she wasn't fearful. All nervousness was buried, lost in that prevailing and intense anger.

"Do what you will," she muttered, turning her head to peer out at the countryside. She could not be going back to her mother. There was no way that Swophill would have roped her mother into hiring brigands. He might have been disasterously charming, but he was not so charming as to convince the pompous and snobbish Mrs. Lanchester to hire thugs from the street that smelled like a fish market. She was past the point where she could care about what these men thought they would do. She would not be marrying Swophill. Determination welled up in her chest as the image of auburn hair and the sensation of the ocean wind came to her as if a vision from an oracle.

Ash would be looking for her. The Alpha would tear the country apart in search of her if that was what it took but she could never hold her only hope in that her Alpha would rescue her. Swophill had probably set up a meeting place for these criminals to pass her off and if she smelled too much like the Captain, they would be wary enough to hide her well. Ash couldn't possibly be her only hope. There was more that she was holding onto and it was in her unbound hands and their assumption that she was a useless and fragile debutante.

 _I'm finished being fragile. I've been too meek. I've been too weak. It ends. Today_.

She moved her hand to the courier's lips, content to know that he was still alive. She did not even know his name and yet she was determined as well to save him. He was a man who traveled far and wide to reach destinations unknown. She wanted him to live not only for his own sake but for hers as well. He was her best chance at survival if she might manage to escape with him.

She cast her sideways glance over the two men. They were stronger than she was but they, at least, lacked the Alpha strength that would have made them impossible to overtake and she was certain that Swophill's severe insecurity was what had prevented him from hiring an Alpha in the first. She could, if she had to, fight them with all her wits and her might and she could, if not escape, die trying. Her nose caught a slight whiff of her Alpha and a pang of sadness hit her suddenly, puckering the skin between her brows.

_Sea oats swaying in the breeze. Sand whirling over the dunes. The whisper of the foam in the waves as they wash ashore. Braids in a crown, a tangle of auburn and soft amber eyes full of promises. The tease of a secret, close-mouth smile that betrayed the pleasure they could give and give freely._

Victoria's determination doubled as the coach was pulled to a stop and the door was opened by the impossibly young apprentice criminal who stared at her seriously as Hal exited the coach first and held his hand out for her to take. She placed her fingers delicately in his and allowed him to assist her, noting the the pistol tucked into his belt with wary curiosity. If she were to get ahold of the thing, it would do her no good. She didn't know how to use it and her fumbling would make her even more vulnerable. But if she could get it away from him...

"Take the damned extra and toss 'im out in the back. Don't want 'im stinkin' if 'e gets mind to die." Hal spat in the dirt, his thumb coming over her small fingers to trap her while he led her to the shack she had assumed would exist.

It was not as cozy as she had imagined, the whole of it appearing as though a sharp gust of wind could knock it flat atop them all, burying them in damp rotting planks and the rusted nails that tentatively held them together. Despite the warmth of the summer, the inside of the cabin reeked of mildew and was perpetually cool, shaded in a copse of trees in a deserted countryside. They would have to keep her here until that bastard, Swophill, could meet them and probably try his best to swindle her away from them. She had no doubts that if that was the course, he would be likely to get them both killed.

For her part, she had no intention to die without first giving them a run for their money and with that thought firmly in place, she allowed Hal to pull out a chair from a rickety table and she sat, placing her hands in her lap again while she watched the larger Beta carrying the courier through the grungey window to the back garden. She noted their positions in her mind even as the smaller criminal reached into his pack and pulled out a bottle of wine, thudding it down on the table and working to remove the cork.

"Perhaps our little guest would like a bit of something to steel his nerves," Hal grinned.

"Do I smell nervous?" she queried softly.

"A brave little Omega, yes. I've met others like you. You won't be so brave if yer not-husband cannae pay for ye. There are other Alphas willin' to pay for a chance to fuck a pretty thing as you."

Victoria scoffed, undeterred while she watched him take out two glasses and pour her out a bit of deep red wine. "My Alpha will find you and kill you."

"Your Alpha? I suppose ye must mean the one that's got 'is stink all o'er ya. Mayhap 'e will. Mayhap I'll put a slug in 'is 'eart afore he e'er gets that chance." He chuckled again while he sat across from her, the bottle between them, and drained his glass in a few gulps.

With a coldness that she knew was entirely unlike her, she asked, "Another glass, Beta? Or are you saving some for your friends?"

He grinned and raised his glass toward her, wordlessly gesturing for more if she would pour it for him.

She acquiesced, standing up and gripping the bottle in order to pour it. It was a small bit more than half filled and it was heavy glass and it would do. After pouring his drink, she paused to read the label, bringing it in front of her while he lifted his glass again. She had been meaning to bash the damned thing over he head but he took it from her before she could even consider how to swing it, tearing it out of her hands so he could stare at it to see what she'd been reading.

"What about it?" he asked, turning it toward her and then back to himself.

"I do not know this kind," she explained smoothly, moving back to her seat. Sipping her own slowly, she regretted not immediately coshing him as soon as she'd had the thing in her hands. She made sure not to take it in gulps, knowing full well what a bit of sherry or wine did to her mother in excess and when she drank it took quickly. She became dulled in the wits and slurred in the speech. Her cheeks turned a few shades of pink and she was wont to speak to the servants in horrible tones and curse them openly, citing their uselessness and rousing their ire. There was a devil in spirits, she thought, but at least for some, like Malto, perhaps, it was not so badly used. For her, nevertheless, she could not risk losing her sense.

_I'm going to kill this man. I'm going to kill him and I'm going to live._

It was a constant thought that looped over and over in her head while she stared at him and even continued when the huge Beta joined them, his large frame creaking down into the other chair across from her. He spoke while he poured his own glass.

"I sent Peter back to port. When the gentleman lands, we will be ready and we will make certain to be paid."

Victoria frowned at him. "And the young man in the garden?"

"Shame about him."

"He is not dead."

"Aye, he lives. Mayhap he'll wake." The big man looked down at Hal between sips. "Better ta put the poor bloke out o' his misery, ehn?"

"There is no need for that kind of savagery," she snapped hotly, "If he is to expire anyway, then simply leave him to do so in his own time. Do not be so brutish, at least not in front of me."

"And if he wakes, little one?" Hal asked with an ugly smile. "Should ye wish to see him shot in the back?"

"Better than to be blugeoned in his sleep without a chance to fight or flee. You've already done him a great disservice by bringing him along. You should have left him. He has naught to do with me."

The big one shrugged and drank, "What's done is done, Omega. Cannae take it back now."

She thought about how it might feel after she'd killed them. She hoped she would feel as numb as they seemed when they spoke of putting the little Beta down. They had made a career of murder and kidnap, that much was obvious. It did not seem to surprise her in the least that Swophill might have had connections that would lead him to men like this and she let her anger flow freely again, scenting it off of herself, it was so vibrant a fragrance. Salty and metallic at the same time, it vaguely reminded her of the scent of the courier's blood.

"Do ye play cards, little one?" Hal asked.

"Go to the devil."

"I've already guaranteed that, my luv. Mayhap if ye don't want to play cards, ye'll like to get on yer pretty little knees and use that sour mouth o' yours for some good."

She straightened in her seat, flustered for the first time since she had been ushered unceremoniously into their coach with the limp and bleeding Beta. The sudden shock of having witnessed the brutal clubbing of the man who had been tasked to watch over her slowly coming back to her. "I'd prefer it if you didn't suggest things that are clearly ridiculous. I would hope that whatever the bounder promised you would be sufficient enough for you to deliver me free from your disgusting touch."

"He doesn't 'ave to know, little one."

"Do you think that I would not tell him?" She huffed while she watched him deal from a deck of worn cards.

"Does he trust ye, little one?" He picked up his set and looked at them, peering over them at her with a clear haze of indifference to her answer. He was merely goading her. With no intention to actually touch her, his goal was to get a rise from her in any way possible. "If my lover left me for America, I don't think I'd trust him again in me life."

"He may rot," she spat, leaving her cards sitting face-down on the table. She sat back, crossing her arms.

Without argument, the two Betas played without her, leaving her seven cards still sitting on the table. They played long into the night as she watched them, their conversation limited and subdued. The evening chilled while she heard the bugs whirring outside in the grasses, the light of what must have been a full moon shining silver through the windows while Hal lit a small lamp that hung in the corner. When her stomach gave an unladylike growl, he unpacked some bread and cheese from a hidden basket and handed her some while they ate more generous portions. At least, she thought, they did not treat her so badly. Still, her mind wandered to the poor man in the garden. He could quite possibly have been dead.

"Omega!" barked the large Beta. "More wine!"

She stood with shaking knees, trembling from having sat so long. Swallowing every ounce of her frustration, she did her very best to transform the heat inside her to a hard coldness. She reached for the bottle, her hands and arms seeming to move on their own accord as she picked it up and poured the deep burgundy into the first glass. She didn't even think when she moved toward the second, at the last moment, gripping the heavy bottle by the neck and swinging it down hard against the edge of the table.

It shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The formatting is off in some places and I lost all my italics. I'll have to go through and replace them when I have more time. Right now, I'm off wrangling the monkeys (not literal monkeys, just my niece and nephew.)
> 
> Wrote this in the car on a tiny keyboard and a kindle. If it sucks, it sucks.


	15. Chapter 15

Carlton's voice was weary, his shoulders slumped and the light gone from his eyes. "We'll find her, Captain, but not tonight. On the morrow, the damned bastard will likely be in port and we'll follow 'im right to 'er, but we've got to be lively when it 'appens."

Malto muttered in his broken English. "Close to home. A warm fire, _Capitano_. A soft bed. Your little one is not far away but..."

They had scoured the countryside and had not found Victoria. Even what she thought were traces of that faint, wonderous scent had been scattered remnants in the wind that could have merely been her imagination. She closed her eyes against the bright white of the moonlight that washed over the swaying sea of tall meadow grasses around her. Her horse nickered petulantly and pawed at the dirt. She was fighting the pull of her tiredness, finding it a chore to keep her eyes open. It would be about a quarter hour to get to the estate from where they were and they could catch a few hours of sleep if they left now and leave early to greet Swophill's ship upon the morn. Not a soul had claimed to see any Omega that fit the girl's description and they had been left with no leads in their search. Still, they had searched and knocked on every door to ask, unsure of which direction to go. They had settled on the path to Swophill's family estate, which conveniently passed Wellton House where the two sailors hoped they would be permitted to sleep.

She sighed and did not reply to them, asking her gelding to walk back down the dirt road toward her father's estate. It was not how she had expected to arrive at the Duke's home. Heavy shame and guilt rolled over her shoulders while they drooped and she sullenly hung her head.

_How am I to explain this to the Duke? It should have been easier to explain how I had mated her before marriage. I shall have to tell him that I could not protect her. That I allowed my mate to be taken from right beneath my nose. That I am a weak Alpha. That I should have remained a Beta._

She kicked at her horse's sides and urged him forward, pulling him into a hard canter with those dark thoughts running in her mind. She would arrive unceremoniously to her father's home and not only would she have to contend with her brother's condition, she would also have to do her best to graciously leave in the morn to exact her revenge upon the Alpha who had stolen her Omega. Her father would be livid. There would be no end to his disapproval. The way the side of his mouth gently tipped downward, how his brows would knit ever so slightly, and the way he would cast covert side-long glances to her mother to express his displeasure with his childrens' actions. She growled to herself while she separated herself from her first mate and helmsman, putting enough distance between her and them so that they may not be disturbed by her unpleasant scent.

"I will find you, Victoria," she breathed. "And I will kill that bastard who took you."

Wellton's glowing windows loomed up from the meadows and the light of the moon lit the towering stone and travelling ivy that climbed the walls. The three intrepid searchers brought the horses around to the front and she was immediately surprised to find a footman awaiting her as if they had been expecting her.

"My Lady," the young man greeted, giving her a deep bow before he took her horse. "Your father is in the parlor."

"The Duke is not in bed?" she asked, incredulous. "He is old enough that he should be careful about himself. Is he mad? It must be about two in the morning."

"He awaits you, my Lady."

She frowned, turning with Carlton and Malto toward the huge dark wooden doors which were opened by the familiar, albeit older, housekeeper, Mr. Widdle. She greeted him cautiously and allowed him to lead her to the parlor. He smiled at her warmly but with a hidden concern that she recognized as one servants held often when one of the household was stricken with tragedy. It was a weariness she did not envy but would soon share.

Her father stood when she entered the brightly lit parlor, his huge frame diminished only slightly with his age. His hair was nearly entirely white and he had a few more lines about his face, time at least kind enough to him that she could not worry for his health. "Ash," he murmured warmly. "The prodigal daughter returns."

"And you somehow had known I was to come home, father? My movements have been anything but predictable. Pray tell, how could you have known of my imminent arrival? I have not sent word..."

"It was not intuition, dove," he smiled, placing his hands behind his back. "Your little Omega thought that your arrival would be forthcoming. She was a bit shaken by what I understand was an ordeal but she was adamant that you be told that she is perfectly well and that she is sorry that she could not greet you herself." He was still smiling as Ash's jaw slackened. "A very odd little thing you've managed to enamor. She is very unique. Dressed like a man and quite steely, if you don't mind my saying." He gestured to the couch and the over-stuffed chairs around the fire. "Sit down, all of you. I'll have the staff ready a few more rooms."

Ash mindlessly sat while Widdle poured them a few glasses of brandy and passed them around. She held hers, still staring at her father while he absently smiled. "My...my Omega...she is alright?"

"I suppose you all have been fruitlessly searching for her. I should imagine that you would be quite proud of her. A bricky little girl, you have. Fair tickled me to the bone to hear the tale. I do not think that I shall be telling your mother some of the more gruesome details of her adventure but I must say, Ash," he took a sip of his brandy, "You ought to be careful about your little mate. Whenever you do mate her, that is."

She grumbled. "I've been a mighty fool to have waited. She told me to mate her before we left the damned ship and I refused for the sake of propriety. Of all things." She looked into the amber liquid in her glass. "I have been a fool for so many things and I will be settling scores with apologies for the whole of the next week. Foremost, Father, I am sorry. I have spent much of my time running and I should not have stayed away for so long. It has taken too much to bring me home and if I were you, I should not feel any pride toward my inadequate Alpha progeny."

"Inadequate?" The Duke chuckled while he sipped his brandy again. "You must not place such words between my lips, daughter. I do not consider you in any fashion inadequate."

She frowned. "I lost my Omega. She was stolen from me. I could not even keep her beside me. I have abandoned you all and now I was to return only to beg your forgiveness so that I might be able to provide for my...my mate. The very mate who should, if she has any sense of self-respect, turn me upon my ear and demand her freedom from my selfishness and my weakness."

The Duke leaned back in his seat and quirked one brow up. "Such words from the most prideful of my children. I'm half of the mind that you cannot be my Ash. If you were not the spitting Alpha image of your sweet mother, I should be questioning your identity."

"Lord," she whispered. "You cannot know how horribly useless I have felt. Is that not what has guided me so far?"

"Will you not calm yourself?"

"How can I? I receive word that my brother is dying and at the very same time, my beloved is swept away by some rival or his hired thugs and I arrive here defeated only to find that she has in some gruesome fashion, escaped. I have failed her at every turn, it seems, and I am at her mercy, as well as yours. There is only one thing I can even fathom to ask and that is for the news of John." She stood up and gulped down her brandy, moving to the side cupboard to pour herself some of her father's bourbon. "Have you kept the girls from him? Are they safe?"

"Settle, Alpha," he crooned. "You are not useless. There has been no harm to your intended mate and she is in no way angered by your actions...or inactions. As for John, you may speak to him tomorrow. I insist that you do, as you may not have the privilege to do so for very much longer." He gave a great sigh through his nose and sat back in his seat. "Your brother's condition has not lessened and we have done our mourning. The girls have been distanced but there is not much I could say to the youngest. Stubbornness is not a trait you hold alone, dove."

"Georgiana is..."

"Not the youngest," the Duke interrupted. "You have been gone a long while."

Her lip felt buttoned while her jaw snapped shut and she stared at her father with wide eyes. It had been overly long. Widdle floated in as if he were a ghost, silent and sneaky like some kind of dark specter, to tell them that the staff had prepared rooms for the three of them. With a strong bow to her father, she retired, allowing Carlton to help her undress before she sank down into the silk sheets and stared upwards, letting the soft moonlight wash over her body from the window. She was not awoken until the morning sun was a decent way into the sky.

"Oh do wake up, sister, I simply must speak with you and now is my earliest convenience."

Ash groaned at the sound of the whine and threw her arm over her eyes, the familiar Omega scent slowly filling the room with a harsh and unappealing sweetness. She grumbled out her response without humor. "It is barely morning, Georgiana, can you not wait for me to at least have come down for breakfast? You selfish, vapid Omegas will bring death upon me, I swear it."

The woman, only a girl the last time Ash had seen her, sighed like a child and climbed atop the bed, throwing her whole body dramatically over her sister and letting her full weight rest atop her. "I shall not move until you are awake!"

"I am awake, and you are no better for it. I will make you regret your choice to bother me." Even without her formidable strength, it was only too easy to flip the girl over with a shriek and pin her down to the bedspread. "Have you not grown in fifteen years, little Omega? I swear I should throw you and you shall fly all the way to London. Light as a feather and just as intelligent."

"And you," the little woman shrilled, "have gained no manners in your absence! And no decency, either, I see!" She covered her eyes with her hands to shield her from Ash's form where the sheets had fallen away. "I demand that you dress yourself immediately and that you tell my hideous siblings that I am clearly your favorite of us all!"

"Is that your intention by coming here to wake me?" She glared downward at the girl who would not look up at her. With a disturbed snort, she rolled away and pulled on her trousers, continuing to dress while her sister sat up on the bed and averted her eyes until Ash was entirely clothed. "You've grown," she mumbled as she tucked her shirt into her pants.

"I am the next to be married, you know. You have missed two decent weddings. Eden was wed to a marvelously handsome Viscount whose name I don't recall and Madeline was married just last fall. He was not a titled gentleman but he was quite wealthy and she fell in love with him, which is very ridiculous if you ask me. What a selfish sort of way to go about things." The Omega was frowning at the carpet.

Ash sniffed in amusement while she inspected herself in the mirror. "Bitterness is unbecoming of you, Georgiana. You sound as if you are preemptively jealous for the caution that you may not find yourself a love match. Do not let your nose wrinkle so badly or you'll get creases and no titled gent will want you at all, love or not."

"And you?" she asked while she made the attempt to fix her mussed up hair. It was a dark auburn color with streaks of red. "I suppose that you must have made a love match. How else would you have come home with such an odd little creature? It could not be an advantageous match for you, I fair thought she was a man when Widdle brought her down to the dining room this morning and would not have known otherwise had he not called her 'Miss' as he led her. A very strange Omega, Ash, I must say. I could not even bring myself to ask her name, I was so scandalized by her appearance. Where, tell, did you find her?"

"She fell from the sky," she mumbled while she opened the door and left, letting her sister follow her out with quick steps.

"Humorous," Georgiana stated flatly.

With quick steps, she made her way into the dining room. Without seeing Victoria, she looked about and ignored her sister's whine for her to slow down while she moved toward the french doors that led to the terrace. That was where she found that delicious Omega aroma that calmed her spirit. At the clack of the door, Victoria and a small male Omega turned about, her father sitting a few yards away from them with his nose in a paper.

"Good of you to join us, Ash," he gruffly greeted. "I don't believe you've met Theodore. Your mother was not yet pregnant with him by the time you'd left."

She would have congratulated him for another son if she had not caught the delicate floral scent of his Omega dynamic. Instead, she faced her youngest brother and bowed, giving him a warm expression. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Theodore. Please forgive me for my absence and for my ignorance of your birth. I have been remiss in my familial duties, no doubt." She turned to Victoria and sighed, dropping her shoulders at the woman's blank expression. She bowed again. "Miss Lanchester, I must prostrate myself greatly. Again. And this time, I am not unaware of my wrong-doing. I have not known an Omega whose insistence upon a goal was born from a wisdom more far-reaching than my own. If you are still of the mind that you would like to spend your days with me, I will not make the same mistake twice. Though, perhaps I have simply been continuously committing this particular sin in regards to you since I laid eyes upon you."

Victoria squared her shoulders, her voice steady but soft. "You're right. You've been an absolute brute." With her brows slightly together, she took sure steps forward until she had come only a foot away from Ash where she stared upwards into her eyes, those blue, icy, orbs flashing in the morning light. "Your father has assured me that the vicar will marry us as soon as we please if he intends to keep his position at the parish upon the estate."

A weight she had not known was upon her shoulders suddenly lifted and she breathed in relief, longing to hold the perfect little miss. "That sounds...wonderful. I understand you have not formally made the acquaintance of my sister, Lady Georgiana."

"We have met," Victoria made to curtsey and then remembered her attire and bowed instead. "My Lady. I cannot expect you to remember me," she smiled, referencing her appearance, "I am Miss Victoria Lanchester."

Georgiana squeaked, flustered. "No! Your...Your hair! My god I was so jealous of you! You hardly look yourself. And that is not to say that you are not beautiful. I just..." Her cheeks were blazing pink and Ash took mercy upon her.

"If Georgiana is finished fumbling over how she will compliment you, my dearest, then I shall steal you away to hear the tale of your adventures, as much chagrin I shall fear at hearing them. I must know how much forgiveness I should beg from you. How many years I shall be forever indebted to you as my mate."

Theodore's cold voice met her ears with a heavy glare, surprising her with his vitriol. "From what I understand, Alpha, there should be no amount of prostration that should free you from the cage of guilt that you deserve."

"Theo!" the Duke snapped, inciting the small Omega to storm from the terrace, slamming the french doors hard enough to rattle them. Her father sighed where he sat. "Pardon his rudeness, Ash, he does not know you."

"And even so," she murmured. "He could be right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slightly late on this because it's the last day of vacation and everyone is scrambling around me trying to put shit together. I think I'm going to fuck off and go to the pool while everyone else runs around like idiots.
> 
> Vacation has been lovely, thank you everyone for your well-wishes. I've got a bit of a tan (through no effort of mine, I assure you, I put on a shit-ton of sunscreen), and the weather has been wonderful.
> 
> Here's to getting back into the swing of things and having a proper laptop for the next week of updates (barring Monday's, which will be written on this Kindle in the car tomorrow and the next day).


	16. Chapter 16

_Deep reddish purple splashed in a dark spray along with the shrapnel of deep green glass. Hal shouted but she barely heard him, a rushing in her ears roaring through her head while she lashed out at the bigger Beta. The rest of her wrath was a sanguine blur. When she came to, she was screaming and weeping, Hal's pistol clutched in her slippery hand while she staggered backwards toward the door, mindlessly clawing for the knob behind her while the smaller Beta stared at her from across the cabin. His eyes shimmered dangerously while he stood, prostrate, with his hand hard against a slashing wound along the side of his neck. Careless thoughts tumbled in fragments and for many moments, she thought she might faint, she wept so fervently._

_Victoria breathed hard while she staggered outside over grass and dirt. Even after the door swung shut and Hal did not come after her, she could not erase the horror that was her memory of the anger and hurt in his eyes. The fresh air and silver light of the moon formed a whole different world. She could not bring herself to turn around, stumbling backwards over dew-laden grass until she was caught, recognizing the calming mild scent of the courier._

_"Good lord, boy," he breathed. "You've gone feral, haven't you? Lucky you did, I was wondering how I would be getting you out. They coshed me but good, they did, but I couldn't leave you. Not when Lady Ash told me to keep my eyes upon you."_

_"He's dead!" she gasped through her tears. "I've killed him!"_

_"Bloody right, you did. Come along, Omega, we're not far from the estate and the moon will guide us. We can get you out of those dirty clothes and wash you up. God, I've never seen an Omega do such a thing..." He swallowed hard. "I'd thought only Alphas..." His voice trailed off as his wide eyes searched the darkness and he pulled her along. She knew not how much time it took her to stagger alongside her companion but when the looming lights shined from the windows of the lonesome manor house above her and the ivy that climbed the walls whispered in the breeze, she felt herself breathe again. Her legs were tired, her body weak, and her mind twisting and turning over scattered glittering pieces of sane thought._

* * *

"I was told," Victoria began, her fingers rubbing at the back of her neck, "That there is such a thing as an anger so great it has the ability to give one a strange sort of strength and perhaps a loss of memory for a short time."

"Such a thing normally occurs to Alphas," Ash explained while she shoveled some eggs and ham into her mouth. "It is an extreme state. You are saying you managed to accomplish it and at least one of the two brigands is dead by your hand. The other. Hal. He could be alive."

Ash did not seem upset by her savagery and, in fact, seemed more affected by the account's open end. That Hal could seek vengeance had not been something that Victoria had been considering when she had pointed his pistol at him. She had only done so out of fear and desperation. She had not the slightest idea of how to use the blasted thing and had surrendered it to the butler nearly as soon as she had arrived. That Hal should be incensed enough to come for her had not been in her thoughts...that was, until now.

Even so, faced with the realization that she had, in a fit of rage, _murdered_ a grown Beta man, she still felt incredibly calm and was amazed by the fact. She had hoped for something like this. She had wished that she could have been as cold and callous about the act as the two Betas had been, but now, after it was over, she wished she could feel at least terrified of what she had done. She wished that she could at least be in awe of herself and the lengths that she had resorted to in order to escape but she felt nothing but a bizarre coldness that seemed in no danger of thawing.

Ash finished her breakfast and reached out across the table with her palm upward, her scent salty and warm when Victoria took the invitation and placed her fingers over the Alpha's. "You've nothing to regret, little dove. Do not trouble yourself about it and if you have dreams about it, I will be sure to comfort you in any way that I can. Are you in danger of a heat?"

"I do not believe so," she explained with a frown, "I was not so very nervous when it began and I cannot explain to you why that was. It was as if I knew that I would have control again. As if I knew that if everything was not alright, at least I would have no need to worry over it for I would fight until I was dead. And after...though it was rather difficult for me, it was as if I were not... _me_. I must sound terribly mad."

"Not at all, little one. Had you died, I would have had Swophill hung for your death. That is, if I had not slaughtered him myself and been sent to the gallows for having done so. I would perhaps have preferred that option for I know not how I could live knowing that I had lost you forever." Her free hand came to the side of Victoria's face and trailed along her soft jawline. "My father will send for a Runner from Bow Street and the man who comes should be sufficient to determine how Swophill is connected to the men who kidnapped you. If this Hal has a mind to come for you, the Runner will find him."

"My mother will vouch for him, she will say that he has claim to me through her agreement to allow him to mate me." She squeezed Ash's fingers, her frown deepening. "I am afraid that they will consider you the interloper..."

When Masterson had pointed out that they were not in England and that Swophill had no proven claim to her, she had felt quite safe indeed but now, with the wolf at the door, she was beginning to feel the strain of English soil. She wanted a mark upon her at the very least to keep her mother at bay.

The Duke's voice rang clear and deep across the dining room when he entered, flopping his paper down upon the end of the table before he moved to the sideboard and picked up a piece of bacon, casually crunching it between statements. "I've gotten you a special marriage license. At your word, Miss Lanchester, you may have the vicar marry you before sundown. Perhaps you would prefer to be married in a proper dress? If not, I am certain that Theodore has a suitable ensemble for you to wear. As you are currently donning his clothes, it is no mystery that he is of a similar size." He examined another piece of bacon before munching it judiciously. "Considering your circumstances, that another Alpha may have some legitimate claim, it will be broken easily by a single bite. If the vicar would officiate with a fresh mark upon your neck, I might have insisted that it occur right this moment."

She raised her fingers to the back of her neck, conscious suddenly of the circumstances that surround the usual bondmark. Most of the time, the act of first mating and marking was planned to occur within an Omega's heat cycle, the overbearing lust and mindless yearning meant to overrule the fear and pain that stemmed from an Alpha's teeth sinking deep to create that permanent scarring bond. Nervousness fluttered in her belly when she thought of how unceremonious everything was going to be. She felt a slight twinge of anger form and release suddenly in her gut when she thought of how much easier the whole damned thing could have been if Ash had only listened to her and marked her when she had been in heat on the ship. What was done was done and the frustration snapped away as fast as it had come.

"There is one piece of fortune that arises from misfortune that the two of you may rely upon that will aide in your cause," the Duke continued as Theodore entered the room with a handful of letters that he was looking through, picking out ones addressed to him before he handed the rest to his father. His Grace was distracted by the mail and he muttered as he shuffled toward the door. "I have used my position to help you but it will be up to you two to continue the course and take the final steps. Say the word, my dear, and you will be wed."

She lifted her eyes to the beautiful Alpha who stared at her with a pleading expression. There was still, in the end, at least the illusion of choice. Through everything, she wanted this Alpha. Through every mistake, every unintended consequence, every incredible sunset, she was unapologetically in love with Lady Ash Neverell, the daughter of His Grace, Duke of Shireton. There was no better choice for her than this marriage. One that was not only convenient, but one that was smoothed heavily by that terrific sensation that put a twisting hot tightness in her chest.

Victoria cleared her throat daintily. "I believe I should like to be married as soon as possible."

Theodore sniffed.

The Duke nodded, his gaze flicking up from his letters. "I will send word to the vicar. Theo, if Miss Lanchester wishes to borrow some of your better clothes, be sure to lend her the best of them. We will not have the opportunity to fetch new ones if we are to have a wedding this afternoon."

"Of course, Father," Theo muttered, casting a hard scowl toward his sister. "If you would care to follow me, Victoria, I can show you what I have for you to borrow." She left her Alpha somewhat reluctantly and when she was within Theo's bedroom with just his personal valet, Mullins, the younger Omega turned toward her with a serious expression. "If you would like, we may have you wed within one of Georgiana's gowns. She is a tad larger than you are but I am certain that with some creativity, it should not be overly difficult to fit one upon your frame. You have lived all your life as a woman until now..."

Victoria touched her fingers to her short hair. "I find that I've grown rather accustomed to the novelty of spreading my legs further when I sit. It sounds terribly crude but--"

"Tell me, Victoria," he interrupted, while he and Mullins searched through his closet to find proper dress. "Do you think you'll be quite happy with someone like the Captain?"

"Your sister?" She nodded lightly while the valet laid out a few small clothing items on the bed. "Of course. I understand that she has not known you but I assure you that she is quite kind and very honorable."

"If she were truly so honorable, why have I not met her before this morning?" He raised a brow, pulling a cravat from one of the drawers of the bureau. "How am I to trust her as my sister?"

"I often wished for a sister in my youth. I suppose it must be different if you are a man..."

Theo's mouth tipped upward at the side. "I must admit that my brother was more fond of me than my sisters. They mostly deemed me an imposition if anything at all. Georgiana has loved me the least..."

Victoria moved behind the screen and began to change, allowing Mullins to assist her as he handed her clothes from the other side of the screen. "Do you believe it to be so because she was the youngest and then you were the youngest? Everyone dotes upon the baby of the family, of course. Ash, surely, will be overly fond of you. How could she not be? If your brother loved you so, how could a sibling older than he be any less enamored by you?"

"If she had interest in loving any of us, she would not have ignored us for so long."

Victoria bit her lip while she arranged her outfit. She allowed Mullins to assist her in tying her cravat and when she was finished, she emerged to Theodore's appreciative gaze. "Is it so much of a concern that she may not hold fondness for you? She is your sister. She is obligated to consider you, at least. And even if she were to consider you in the same manner as your other sisters, which she shall not, then you should not take it too far to heart." She approached him as he helped her with her cuffs and touched his sleeve affectionately. "Aside, I am joining your family by choice, such as it is. I shall do my best to remain fond of you." She gave him a coy glance that earned her a tickled smile. "Provided you do not upset me overly."

"Then I will have gained two sisters today. I can be at least sure that I am to like one of them. The brave one, I daresay. Who does not run from her responsibilities."  
"Be kind to your sister and do not attribute things to me that you have no evidence to support. I am only under the influence of these circumstances because I ran, quite literally, in much the same way as Ash had done. Although, I must admit that her flight was perhaps less tainted by deceit than mine was. I cannot regret my decision in any way, nevertheless, for I met her...and she is my Alpha."

"Your Alpha," he mused, sitting upon the edge of the bed. He looked up at Mullins who was busy collecting and folding Victoria's discarded clothes. The Omega servant was studiously ignoring the two of them. "Mullins," Theo asked, "You have an Alpha mate. Is there any truth to the legend of truemates? That one could have an Alpha that is made for one? That somewhere there is a mate that is quite perfect and that it would be possible to find them?"

Mullins did not look at either of them but answered just the same. "I cannot say I take much stock in truemates, sir. But I suppose it could not be discounted. There are some who believe in it. But, then again, people will believe just about anything if it is said convincingly enough."

"Awfully cynical of you, Mullins," Theo grumbled. "How am I to know for certain that I will find an Alpha who will worship me?" He turned to Victoria again. "Does my sister worship you, Victoria?"

"I do not suppose that it is the correct word."

"She has not compromised you, has she?"

"I daresay that she has very well compromised me but I cannot admit to being ruined. I am not so experienced in such matters." She felt her cheeks grow pink with her embarrassment. "I am somewhat concerned over the ordeal, if I may say so..."

"Nonsense, Mullins, tell Victoria that she has naught to worry about. Tell her what you told me."

The servant appeared as though he wished to be anywhere save where he was at the moment. He looked so uncomfortable, in fact, that Victoria wanted to rescue him from having to explain anything. Simultaneously, she wished for the enlightenment that Theodore had promised her, Mullins acting as the prophet for the word that would save her from her wandering anxieties.

"Go on," Theo urged.

Mullins's lip twitched. "The young master was sworn to secrecy."

Victoria nodded sagely. "Then I shall take the information to my grave. I swear it to you, Mr. Mullins."

The Omega sighed, the sour notes of ire in his scent fading. "Normally, an Alpha will mate you while you are in heat. As you must be aware, you will not have the luxury. In a heat, you would have been nearly entirely lost to your...urges." He wiped his mouth with his free hand, staring down at the clothes folded over his arm. "You will not have to contend with her knot and if she did not wish to, she would not force you to consummate your marriage but...to have the bite without the...act...it is very unusual. I...er...am certain she will guide you but your greatest chance at comfort during your... _joining_...will be to hold yourself upon your hands and knees and allow her to come behind you. It is the best way and the most normal mating position." His face was blazing from his throat to his hairline. "It will, for a very short moment, be painful. You are a woman, and, it is natural for pain to accompany the breaking of your..." He made a vague hand gesture and Victoria frowned.

"Pain?"

"Most Omegas and some Beta women experience some pain, yes. Sometimes, an Alpha is simply too...large. But there is such a thing in women as a maidenhead...it will break."

"Ah!" She chirped. "I understand now. That's what she meant when she told me that I was compromised but not ruined. What a dastardly concept. How devious of them all to keep us from hearing of it. I am certain it cannot be overly horrible."

"No," Mullins provided, "Normally, you wouldn't even notice it. Now, I suppose you will. But your Alpha will make everything right. You can be very much a sensual Omega without a heat. Women have it much easier, your arousal even out of your cycle will cause a bit of a leak but nowhere near the sort that soaks the bedclothes."

She nodded, mostly to herself. "I am confident in myself," she mused. "I think I shall be a wonderous lover." She beamed at Theodore. "I'm quite spirited, after all." With that, she picked a piece of lint off of her sleeve and sent it sailing to the floor. With everything she had endured up until this point, she supposed that it would have been utterly useless to have become nervous over anything at all. Even with the specter of her mother, of Swophill, and of Hal's dubious revenge, she could not help but grin at Theodore, her smile genuine. "I think I will confound your sister at every turn."

Theo blinked. "Ready for a wedding then, Victoria?"

"Absolutely." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, it's so nice having an actual computer.
> 
> Yayyy, we're [finally] gonna get married!
> 
> Thank you everyone for all of your wonderful comments. When I was off work with a broken arm, I was a motivation machine, but, as we all well know, once life starts happening, it's difficult to keep to schedule. I promise, comments keep me writing on time. Especially when it's warm outside.


	17. Chapter 17

Her father was a resolute sort of man and she had never known him to have much of a sense of humor. Still, when she saw him speak to Victoria, when she saw him offer her help, he seemed much different than she had remembered him. Though, she thought, fifteen years could, perhaps, change a man. He had been quite proud of his eldest son and Alpha heir despite having little to no hand in his childrens' upbringing. He was very hands-off with them when they were children, leaving them to their long-suffering governess more often than not. His voice was warm with Victoria and he even interacted more with Theodore than she had ever remembered him doing so with any of his previous children.

Her mother was pale and pretty and she was convinced that the woman lived, for the most part, in a world of fantasy, spending most of her time either staring into the gardens under a parasol or with her delicate nose buried into a novel. She often had a faraway look in her eyes and spoke of those mentioned in the society papers as if they were merely characters in a book rather than people of flesh and blood. She wrinkled her nose at most improprieties unless, that was, she thought those improprieties could result in a fantastic romance or a delicious piece of gossip. Now, it seemed the woman hadn't much changed and with a few more creases by her eyes and her mouth, she sat with a glazed expression, staring up at nothing next to John's bed while the lace curtains fluttered before open windows in the warm air.

John was awake and under a set of blankets that must have made him much too warm with his dressing gown on and the sun in a square over his covered legs. His eyes darted to the door when Ash entered and immediately his sour, metallic, sickly scent altered to betray his joy at seeing her. He lit, his gauntness somehow nearly overtaken by the smile he gave her.

“Ash,” he murmured, holding out his hand to her. She took it and squeezed affectionately, studying the way his bones seemed brittle in her grip and how much weight he had lost in his illness. Guilt clouded her. “I'm so glad to see you. Mother told me that you've found an Omega. That it is quite a tale. She tried to tell me some of it but she is missing many of the details that I am certain are much more sordid than Father would let her know.” He laughed, the sound raspy in his throat. “I am glad that you have found someone. I daresay I was close. There was a very stunning little one I swear would have married me had I asked for her...” His brows inched together. “I...didn't.” He let go of her hand while she pulled up a chair.

Their mother was still staring into the upper corner of the room but she spoke nonetheless and her voice was a wisp. “When you are better, you will find a girl who will have you. Miss Silverton is not the only pretty girl in England.”

His smile lessened and he cast an anguished glance toward the Duchess. “Mother, why don't you treat yourself to some tea or scones? Ash and I have much catching up to do and you will likely be bored of it.”

Her eyes snapped to her son and she stood awkwardly, leaning over to kiss his brow before she swooped out of the room, barely giving Ash a second glance.

John's mouth tipped while he leaned back and sighed, a rattle evident in the sound. “She's somehow got it in her head that the _wind_ is to cure me. Frankly, I've never heard of something so ridiculous in my life. At least Father doesn't have any delusions. For that, I think we can all be thankful.”

“You seem in high spirits,” she noted, forcing a smile.

“You know me,” he winked at her, his grin nearly rakish, “always in high spirits.”

She leaned back in the chair and put her boot on the side of his bed. “Her name is Victoria Lanchester.”

John's eyes lit and he nearly sat up. “No! That little minx? She's a demon, that one! I swear to you, Ash, she's avoided every kiss that's been laid for her, every trap that's been set. She's like a ghost in the gardens, sister, I swear it.” He laughed and it devolved into a hard, wracking cough that he subdued with a handkerchief. When he was finished, his eyes were wet with the strain. “I was certain...that she would be wed to the future Viscount...Swophill is his name. He seemed a shoe-in if you believe what they write in the papers.”

Ash chuckled and closed her eyes, unwilling to see the bright red stain on the cloth her brother had stifled his cough with. “She's a wild little thing. An odd creature, if you are to take Georgiana's words.” She related to him the tale of Victoria's flight and their subsequent return, careful not to omit anything that she felt he should know. At the end of it, he was laying back among his pillows, staring at her with a pensive expression.

“And you are to marry her today?”

“I am.”

“And I suppose she shall make a decent Duchess.”

“I beg pardon?”

John peered at her curiously. “Did father not write you? He told me that he did. He told me that he would send for you. Lord Netherfield, some years ago, made a few waves when he had announced that he would allow his eldest daughter, an Alpha, hold his estate and his title. When all of those stuffy old birds looked through it all, it turned out that there was nothing to be done about it. Any Alpha can hold a title. Even a woman. They call her Lady Netherfield and she's an Earl.” He stared at her, expectantly.

Ash felt muddled while she went through the letter's contents in her memory. _I refuse to be utterly deprived by the event._ “He means to...”

“He means to title you, Ash.” John's eyes crinkled in the corners. “I know you probably prefer the title of Captain but with me in such a state, you can hardly sneak off to Bristol to avoid us forever.”

“Nonsense,” she retorted, “I was on my way back to beg forgiveness. You could hardly expect Miss Lanchester to wish to live at sea.”

“And here you are and Father was all set to beg _you_ to take his estates and claim your rightful place as his heir. To think that you should have been Marquess this whole time instead of me. To think that you should have been the one with all the boring responsibilities and _I_ could have been the one out adventuring around the world and bronzing my skin.” He reached for her hand and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her darker flesh. “You are my favorite sister, I hope you know that.”

She let herself grin. “And you are my favorite brother. No. I will take it back. You are my favorite of all my siblings and you are very much allowed to throw that right into Georgiana's face, the little chit.”

He chuckled again and beamed up at her. “When I am gone, you will have to dote upon Theodore for me. He is lovely, you know.”

Ash nodded. “It will take him some time to warm to me, if he ever does. But I swear to you, John, you should have no fear for him. I will allow no harm to come to him or any of them.”

He closed his eyes, sighing in repose. “That is exactly what I wanted to hear from you. He is such a beautiful boy and he will make a lovely addition to the Season. He's not been out yet and he will do much better with you at his side.”

“After all of the gossip I've caused?” She grimaced.

“The papers are kind to Alphas and it has been many years.” He weakly waved up a hand. “It is not as though you could have known. I presented first. I was taller than you. Haberdeen was content in thinking you were a tall Beta. If he hadn't been a titled man and required an heir, I fair say he might have told the _ton_ to boil themselves in a gravy pot and married you anyway. I've heard it happens sometimes...though I've never heard of it happening here in England.” He shrugged. “Perhaps Portugal. Or Spain. Or...somewhere of the like.” He cracked one eye. “I am sorry though, Ash. About him.”

She smiled feebly. “It has been too long to be sorry about him. You've met Victoria.”

“And she is the heroine of what seems to be a legend.”

“I have told her that she is a Valkyrie of Omegas but she does not hear me when I compliment her.”

John scoffed. “Do any of them? They are content to believe themselves all to be lesser than each other if only to feed their jealousies. They are not happy if they have nothing to whisper about amongst themselves.”

“Oh do not be so harsh on them,” she scolded, “She is much braver than the likes of you or I.”

“I will accept that for myself, but not for you. You've been loose upon the waters for over a decade and I'm certain you've been tied to a mast and flogged before. If an Alpha can withstand something as horrid as that and rise to the status of Captain of her own ship, then there is certainly plenty of bravery in her heart.” His voice lowered. “Miss Lanchester may believe she is a coward for running from Swophill's bond but to relinquish ties to her family for the sake of her dignity is nothing less than sheer courage in my eyes.”

“And in Father's eyes as well,” she murmured. “Her flight was courageous, to be sure. Mine was simple cowardice.”

“Do not be so harsh on yourself. Your position was difficult then. It is not so much now. You will have a lovely little Valkyrie for a wife and she will turn you right upon your head. Hopefully, Swophill will not be arriving at our doorstep brandishing a dueling pistol for your impertinence. He has always been a scoundrel at the card tables and is the first to get red in the face.”

“I've met him,” she growled. “And the first I saw of him, he had his nasty paws all over _my_ Omega.”

“Oh I do hope he never got to kiss her,” John sighed. “Nobody ever did during the Season. To my knowledge, she remained that way. It was such good sport trying to steal kisses in the gardens and Miss Lanchester had to be the most difficult of Omegas to seduce. Cold as a trout, that one. Have you managed it?”

Ash blinked. “I...well...no.”

“No matter,” John smiled. “She will kiss you tonight. When you are wed. It will be lovely, I know. I shant go. I can't have you all worrying over me while you're supposed to be celebrating.” His energy was waning and his speech was getting dimmer in his tiredness.

“Can I get you anything, John?”

“No, no...” he breathed. “Sometimes it comes upon me so quickly.” He smirked at her. “I hate to keep you all waiting and anxious. It is just that it seems that the devil won't take me just yet.”

“I am of the hope that he will not take you at all.” Her heart squeezed in her chest and she suddenly wished, for the first time, that she had not left fifteen years ago. That she had stayed with him. That she had helped him run Eddington House. It was stupid and it was useless but all of her memories of him bled into her brain and she felt so deliriously _empty_. “I don't know how I'll manage without you. My life and my childhood here would have been hollow without you with me. How am I to come back just for you to leave again?”

“You can't be serious,” he nearly whispered. “I'd be hacking like some invalid and wasting away the whole time...”

“Not if you got better.”

He opened both of his eyes to give her a withering stare.

“John, you are only thirty-five years old. You cannot leave me so young.”

“And yet I feel as if I am one-hundred. There are some who can recover from such things. Eden's husband had a bout of it some years ago. But I am not under the same delusion that Mother seems to be. Do not beg for me to stay, Ash. I've no intention to.”

“You are cruel, brother.”

“And you must be terrifically arrogant if you think you shall stay death's hand merely by balling your fists and stating some weak argument against it.”

She smiled even though she didn't want to. “I _am_ an Alpha. Arrogance is my right.”

“Well, to the devil with you then. So you can fight him yourself. I'm tired of it.”

She left him to his mid-day siesta and with a full mind, she wandered the halls of the massive country estate. When her sensitive nose picked up her Omega's scent, she absently followed it until she was pacing outside the room that she was certain Victoria resided within.

Surprisingly enough, Theodore opened the door, his scowl set. “Must you foul up the hall, Alpha? Don't you have someplace you ought to _be_? Is it rather bad luck for the groom to have a glance at the bride before a wedding, you know!”

She quirked a brow and said nothing to the impudent brat, straightening her back and retreating until she found Widdle arranging a set of chairs on the lawn near the terrace. He gave her a smile and asked her if she would like Carlton to help her change for her wedding, his eyes casting over her informal dress without any judgment in them at all. She agreed and met the man at her room where he arrived with Malto trailing, the three of them sat in her room while Carlton readied a more formal outfit he'd borrowed from John's wardrobe, as the clothes in her room were all out-of-fashion, fifteen-year-old gowns that would be unsuitable for a woman of her profession and personality.

She told the two of them of what Victoria had told her at breakfast while she changed without a screen, unabashed and comfortable with them.

Malto stroked his thumb and forefinger over his chin. “This...Runner. From London. He will take time to arrive.”

“I will need the two of you to remain on your guard. Do you still have your old pistol, friend?”

“Of course, _Capitano_.”

“Good. She described him as dark in complexion and she gave him quite a wound on his neck, she said. She took his pistol from him and I believe Widdle still must have it somewhere, else he gave it to my father. He'll most likely be quite sneaky.”

“And the Alpha?” Malto asked, a contained violence in his expression and his eyes.

“If Swophill has the gall to come to the estate, I want to face him myself.”

“I promise nothing,” Malto said softly as Carlton helped Ash tie her cravat and tuck it into her waistcoat.

The Beta sniffed. “We'll do our very best, Captain. No harm will come to your lady love. Swophill, however...” He gave a hard glance to Malto who was ignoring the both of them. “All you must do is marry her and mark her. Do not let it come to your mind while you should have your focus on other matters. More important matters.”

“Right,” she agreed, examining herself in the mirror before she left with the two of them, pacing a bit outside while her family gathered about. Georgiana engaged her in some idle chatter about how the housekeeper had made a special meal for the evening and how she was rather put out that the wedding would be happening so soon as she would have liked to have had time to craft a little laurel for Victoria, as was custom in some families. Eventually, she was herded toward the vicar who seemed rather pleased to be there, despite the oddness surrounding the event. He seemed happy enough just to be doing a wedding and to be in the Duke's good favor, which, she supposed, was well enough.

As it turned out, Georgiana should not have worried over a laurel for Ash's father had placed upon Victoria's head a woven crown of white roses that he must have cut from his own treasured garden, a measure of sentiment that was as puzzling as was his unusual warmth at her arrival. At the very sight of those beautiful blue eyes and the scent of her giddiness and honest, genuine, and guileless love, Ash was completely undone. She could scarce breathe for the want—the _need—_ in her heart. Victoria, and no one else, would forever hold her heart in the palm of her small hand. That she had ever thought herself in love with Haberdeen was nearly laughable now that the ringing in her ears drowned out every word the vicar said. She almost couldn't speak when her father nudged her gently to remind her to say her piece and she nearly choked out the two words of her vow, never meaning any words more in her whole life.

_I do. I swear upon all that is good and right in this world that you will be protected and loved and cherished and worshiped for the rest of our days. I want to make you happy, Victoria Neverell. Happy like you've never been before._

Before she knew it, Victoria had given her own stuttering and teary “I do” and in the blink of an eye, the vicar had shut his book and informed them that it was about time they did something about “all of this” he stated humorously as he gestured between the two of them.

Ash took a step closer.

Victoria looked down and then up again, whispering, “I've never been kissed before.”

_Sure you have. Simply not upon your mouth..._

“There is a first time for everything, is there not?” she asked, tipping the Omega's chin up with a gentle thumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, I promise there's physical contact of the intimate kind in the next chapter. Hahahaha. Oh man. Wow. Yeah. _They're gonna fuck._
> 
> Her brother is (was) bae. Just wanna roll him right up like a cinnamon roll.
> 
> Thanks for reading, everyone. If you've recommended my fic to anyone, I deeply appreciate that. Word of mouth is by far the best way for fics to travel. Comments, concerns, how your day went: Encouraged. Come say hi.


	18. Chapter 18

Without waiting for her reply, Ash swooped down and pressed her lips against Victoria's and the Omega was suddenly lost to the sensation. She had dreamed about this moment for such a long time and now, she could only hold gratefulness in her heart that it had finally come to her by way of a salt-scented, beautiful, adventurous Alpha. The gentle pressure of Ash's lips was at once soft and insistent and the foreign sensation of the act nearly could have made her head spin. It wasn't even just her lips! It was the Alpha's arms twining around her, her fingers buried in her short hair, the exquisite closeness that she knew they would share from this moment on. She could feel the fire in herself. She could feel the spark and the allure of her own being and her resolve to be a good lover was renewed.

She wasn't ready when Ash pulled away and she had to stifle a tiny mewl that threatened to escape with her unwillingness to let go. She was aware that there was a swollen feeling between her legs and she felt her cheeks grow hot at her remembrance of what Mullins had said. That she could very much be a sensual creature without a heat. That it was not necessary to wait for her cycle to be a lustful being...she wanted to hide her face, knowing that the poor vicar could probably scent her arousal.

“Was it how you thought it would be?” her Alpha asked, smiling down at her.

Her words were halted by a breathless giggle.

“I suppose that is a yes.”

She could not seem to find a response, especially when she turned about to find that the small gathering of family and servants were clapping and happy. Even Theo seemed brightened and she willingly followed everyone's lead as they broke apart to have a small celebration in the parlor. She was given a glass of champagne, the fine bubbles tickling her nose while she sipped at its dryness, unsure of whether or not she was enjoying it. Truly, her mind was focusing and refocusing over and over on how close she was to her mate. Every time Ash moved away from her, she was overly dismayed and the Alpha most definitely noticed, preferring to remain near to her to avoid any discomfort on Victoria's behalf.

She was itching for a bite. There was something to be said about propriety, she supposed, but they were both practically jittery from smalltalk only an hour into the small festivities and there must have been something in her eyes that betrayed her when her gaze passed to the Duke's face and he caught her glance with his own. He moved swiftly and was dutiful when he broke apart Ash's strained conversation with Georgiana, Shireton's voice not forceful, per se, but authoritative, when he stated that it was about time Ash and Victoria took a small rest before dinner.

The Omega could not have been more grateful for a man's interruption in her entire life.

“Gracious,” Ash breathed while she held Victoria's hand as they walked up the stairs. “When I left that girl, she was five years old and she was a chattery little thing with a jaw that would not stop moving.”

“Has anything changed?” Victoria asked, puzzled.

“No,” she snapped. “Gods, _Omegas_...” She jolted, as if she'd startled herself. “In all my jesting, I do not, of course, refer to you.”

“Of course you do,” she smiled. “I am just as vexing as any Omega, I assure you. You cannot forget that only a few days ago, you stood beside me aboard your ship and called me fickle. I daresay that if I am to share that quality, then I am sure to possess several other disagreeable ones that you will find yourself disgruntled by.”

“Well then we should make a small deal, then, Omega,” Ash told her while they reached the landing, walking slowly together toward Ash's room. “That when I do something hideously Alpha-like that in any way makes you uncomfortable, that you should tell me immediately. When you do something hideously Omega-like, I should button my lip and take the abuse of your gender without complaint, as that is what a mate is for.”

“It hardly seems fair,” Victoria replied. “I would hardly know what to attribute to your gender and what to attribute to your boarish personality.”

Ash gave a dramatic and humored gasp, putting her free hand to her chest in mock offense. “You've _hurt_ me, you despicable girl.”

She laughed, pleased at her barb's consequence. “Well you can't very well tell the vicar to _un_ marry us, you will simply have to deal with me and live with the _abuse of my gender._ ”

“Oh spirits, you will try me,” Ash grinned as she opened the door to her room.

It smelled of her. It smelled like the ocean and the haze of salt in the air aboard _Apollo_. For a few moments, Victoria could only think of how wonderous it had been to stand aboard the ship upon the deck and watch the men work in the rigging and watch the wind fill the sails. There was something so lovely about the sea and the way it made her Captain smell like adventure and a journey toward something she thought could have been happiness. The fragrance of hope, she thought stupidly.

“I am nervous,” Victoria admitted.

“I will be gentle with you, little dove, you have nothing to be nervous about.”

“I was told that it can hurt.”

Ash chuckled while she shut the door behind them. “I'm going to bite you. Of course it will hurt.”

“No...” Her cheeks were ablaze and she felt her heart stutter. “I did not mean that...”

“Ah.” Her Alpha moved to the bed and turned down the covers in the upper corner, staring at the counterpane as if trying to decide whether she wanted to throw it off or keep it on. She looked back at Victoria and then to the bed again, choosing to fold the the heavy blanket and top sheet over upon themselves several times until they were a thick roll at the foot of the mattress. She studied the pillows and leaned over to arrange them, obviously at a loss over how she thought an Omega might have wanted them in a nest.

Victoria scratched the back of her head, tickled by the Alpha's poor attempt at nesting. “I meant...”

“You meant the pain that occurs when a girl loses her innocence. When a mate breaches her maidenhead.” Ash was very matter-of-fact in tone and it toppled Victoria's thoughts.

“Well, yes.”

“For some girls, there is no pain. For some, there is much. A woman's body is as individual as her mind. For all you know, you could have broken the thing while on horseback if it were terribly fragile.” The Alpha turned about, smiling at her in a reassuring manner that was positively endearing, easing some of her nervousness. “You did say that you enjoyed riding.”

“And if it was not fragile?”

“I will be gentle.”

She rolled over her thoughts while they stood together in the room, fully dressed and standing apart. “When you and the Captain of the other ship...was it...painful?”

“No.”

“Not in the slightest?”

“Not in the slightest.”

She was unsure if she was placated enough or not. They stood, awkwardly, she thought, without moving. “I suppose we should get to it then. I was told that I should be on my hands and knees if it is to be a proper mating...” She moved to the bed while she fumbled with the buttons of her waistcoat.

Ash didn't speak but moved toward her, pulling her hands away in order to unfasten the buttons faster. It was easier this way, as the Alpha was not trembling. Ash easily divested her of her outer later of clothes, leaving her standing only in her shirt which draped over her, the back of it gently swooping over the curve of her bottom, leaving that sensitive crease to her thighs exposed to the warmth of the fire.

Suddenly conscious of her near nakedness, she tugged at the bottom of the fabric, keeping it down to cover her groin while her Alpha stripped rather unceremoniously. “Must I be entirely naked?” Victoria asked. “Should this not be acceptable?”

Ash paused as she let her bindings slip to the floor, her breasts striped with shallow indentations from where they were held in place. She was still wearing her trousers and she straightened, puckering her brow. “I cannot force you to do anything you do not desire, little one, but I fully intend on touching you everywhere...that is, unless you are to request that I not.”

She remembered her resolve to be a wonderous lover and she faltered heavily, anxiety lancing through her. “Would it be possible for myself to not be embarrassed? I had thought that I would be quite spirited about the whole ordeal and now that I am here, I find myself very unsure. Perhaps...perhaps if you were to kiss me...”

She did not have to say any more. Ash swooped upon her and gripped her head while she gave a soft squeak that was stopped short with a soft and pressing kiss that muddled every thought that could have run through her brain. She keened into the Alpha's mouth when she was shocked by a searching tongue, groaning and mewling through her nose while her mouth was deliciously plundered. Every time she thought Ash would pull away from her, she was opened again while held about the waist and pulled intimately against her mate.

_My mate._

Moisture and heat pooled low between her thighs while she became gradually breathless with Ash's tender and generous kisses, the wet heat of her mouth causing waves of gooseflesh to pulse over her body, tightening her muscles. The fabric of her shirt against her breasts was suddenly too much as she was held against Ash's heat and her nipples hardened into tiny pebbles, stimulated further with every rasping breath she managed around her Alpha's sensual onslaught.

How she had ever captured this truly elusive beauty, she could not imagine. If she had been told some time ago when she had first laid eyes upon this gorgeous specimen that she would find herself kissed into a silly frenzy, she would have been laughably indignant, certainly. How could she have known that upon first sight of the only female Alpha she had ever seen close, she had been gazing upon her future...her wife?

A wet, erotic sound that came from Ash ending their set of wild kisses brought Victoria's thoughts back from her memory and she was suddenly weightless, lifted from where she stood by Ash's effortless strength and placed in the haphazard nest of pillows.

“Do you still insist on this attire, little one?” Ash asked, climbing onto the bed to loom over her.

“No...”

Ash made short work of the shirt, pulling it off and leaving Victoria bare, the feeling of her mate's amber eyes roving over her nakedness like a wave of searing heat upon her flesh. The place between her thighs, hidden by soft, dark blonde curls, was swollen and throbbing, begging for a touch. She stared up at Ash's lips, wondering just how to ask for what she desired. That carnal touch of lips and tongue that she often remembered deep in the dark of the night when she was alone in her bed. Would it be the same if she was not in heat? Would it be somehow lesser?

“Ash,” she murmured, her eyes wide and pleading. “I...wish that you would...”

“You wish that I would...?”

“With...your mouth...”

A hearty and lustful grin spread upon her lips and she graciously slid downward, pressing soft kisses to the flesh under her bellybutton until she had worked down ward to ease her nose against Victoria's mons, taking in a deep breath to scent the sharp tang of arousal that the Omega could easily detect from herself.

The Alpha gently spread Victoria's thighs and with her thumbs, parted her.

“Oh, dove,” she whispered in reverence. “You're so wet for this. Truly, you have missed my mouth, haven't you...”

“Oh do not be so crude about me, I shall be embarrassed.” She covered her face with her hands, yelping when she felt her Alpha's lips kiss her sweetly against the pearl at the top of her pink and shining folds—the spot that was most sensitive to touch, that she could barely stand to find at the center of Ash's attention. “ _Alpha!_ ” she cried, helplessly jerking her hips with the sudden and intense jolt of pleasure that rocked her. In fact, she could not help the sounds that escaped her and she quickly abandoned all hope of remaining quiet or demure when Ash sealed her lips to Victoria damp heat and began to suckle and bestow quick and heavy flicks of her tongue over the tiny, throbbing gem. “ _Alpha! Alpha! Alpha!_ ”

She panted and screamed, her body twisting and writhing while she grasped desperately at her mate's hair, failing in her attempt to remove the offending presence. “ _Oh my god, I shall die!_ ” Her protestation ended with a hard shriek that accompanied a shuddering set of convulsions in which she entirely lost her voice and her vision, the world turning white while every muscle tightened in spasms. She was left with a lasting tremble and while her surroundings returned from their blank whiteness, she felt a surprised, high-pitched squeak leave her open mouth.

She was still panting when Ash lifted her head and calmly reached for the shirt she had taken from her lover, wiping her mouth with it after she had casually licked her lips as if to savor the tang of her womanhood. The Alpha's voice was filled with pride and humor.

“Are you quite overwrought, dove? Should I get you something? Champagne?”

She could smell her mate's arousal. It was a hard scent that added a spice to her normally salty aroma and even just its presence made her yearn for something more. The familiar and odd notion that she wanted to be _filled_ was somehow present even out of her heat and she breathed herself through the tiny shocks that still sparked from between her legs.

“I do not nuh-need any champagne, thank you. I am...I am sorry for pulling your hair...”

Ash smoothed down the bits that Victoria had pulled and smiled. “A woman's pleasure can be quite intense, think nothing of it. That you are enjoying yourself is all I need to be comforted. Would you say that you are?”

“I...I should not know... I do very much like...that...whatever that is.”

“An orgasm? Well, yes, you should enjoy that. That, after all, is my goal.”

Victoria frowned. “You have reached it quite quickly then, Alpha...”

“Gracious girl,” Ash laughed, “I am not to stop there. By the time you leave this room with my mark upon your neck, I fully intend to give you so many of those that you should forget who the Queen is.”

Her mouth curled. “Well that is simply _silly_.”

“Is it? I cannot recall having laughed.” Ash winked down at her and gently moved between her legs, unfastening the front of her trousers and pulling out the most curious part of her anatomy.

Victoria stared at it, framed by her spread thighs. “Goodness,” she breathed. “It is as if it were made for me.”

“It was,” Ash replied, grinning. She held it by the base, lifting it so that Victoria could see it. By all accounts, it looked as if it should not possibly fit within her but she knew it must and she knew that deep inside her, this was what she had been yearning for. This was what she had been waiting to be _filled by_. The organ itself was rigid and slightly curved upward. Ash tilted her head and looked down at herself. “I will be gentle with you, little dove. Hurting you is not something I would enjoy.”

“It does not look like it should hurt...” she marveled, taking it upon herself to sit up. “May I touch you, Alpha?”

“Of course. It is a little sensitive, dove, although admittedly not as sensitive as you are.”

The flesh of it was hot and, to Victoria's surprise, as soft as satin. The thin, easily manipulated skin moved with her touch and short strokes over a hard internal core that was all-in-all fascinating for her to behold.

“Is this what it is like for a man?” Victoria asked, bringing her face closer to the organ to look closer at its tip.

“They are very similar, yes.”

“I could not imagine having one. How inconvenient it must be for you to walk...”

Ash chuckled, obviously tickled. “It is not always like this. It is a bit smaller when I am not consumed with lust for my mate.”

“Oh. Well, that is a relief. Should I be turned about?”

“If you would like to be.”

She backed away and turned over onto her belly before she brought herself up on her hands and knees, pulling a pillow to her in order to help prop herself up. “I am curious as to how it should feel,” she stated over her shoulder. “I do wish that it will not hurt.”

“If it does, I am to hope that you may be distracted from it.”

Before she could ask the method of distraction, Ash's mouth was upon her again as her rump was lifted behind her. She moaned pleasantly, hugging the pillow to her cheek while she spread her legs further, urging her Alpha to bury her face deep into her curls. As easy as it had seemed for the Captain last time to bring her to that delicious rise, this time, she could not stop rocking backwards as the Alpha's tongue parted her rhythmically, the tip and then the flat coursing over her again and again until she paused and pressed it hard into the Omega's tight, grasping entrance.

“ _Oh Alpha...oh..._ ”

It was as if Ash were kissing her again but not upon her mouth, her tongue moving in and out of her and her plush lips coming over her in slow, patient suckling motions that put her straight into a tizzy of emotion and salacious need. She felt Ash's hands upon her hips and suddenly her mouth was gone and it was replaced by a soft pressure.

Victoria peered over her shoulder as her mate pushed harder, the Omega still trembling, the movement stemming mostly from an earnest, giddy anticipation. She wanted to push back but held herself still. Bracing for pain, she watched Ash's eyes roll back as her lashes fluttered and she took in a soft, sated breath as Victoria felt a _breaching_ that was utterly unfamiliar and, in all honesty, quite _novel_. It was not, in any way, painful and Ash was, even in her ecstasy, deliberate. Victoria bit her bottom lip while the Captain pulled her back ever so slowly, inching herself deeper until there was no room left for her to move.

Ash's breath was short. “Good God, Victoria. My good girl. My _wonderful_ Omega. I have not hurt you...”

“No. Not at all.” In fact, she felt terrific. She could only imagine the kind of pure satisfaction than an Omega must have being filled like this during their heat. Still, she was not certain that this could at all compare to the sensation of her lover's mouth upon her.

“Perfect.” The Captain carefully positioned them both so that she could curl herself behind Victoria's petite form, her lips connecting with the back of Victoria's neck in an intimate and shudder-worthy kiss, ghosting over the soft patch of thin skin where she would place her mark. “I'm going to move inside you, is that alright?”

“Will it be pleasurable?”

The Alpha paused. “It can be. Though if you wish for me to make you scream again, I'll be certain to _enhance_ your experience.”

Her blush deepened and she giggled. “You will not think me a wanton woman?”

“All women should be wanton women,” Ash murmured, nibbling Victoria's ear and reaching around her between her body and the pillow to tug and pinch one of her small, pink nipples. “Do you want me to make you scream, Omega?”

“Oh...yes. I want to scream. I want to to feel very much exhausted by you.”

Her Alpha let loose a low chuckle and the hand that had played with the tip of her breast slowly trailed in a casual swoop between her legs where she was opened and joined with her lover. The gentle pads of two of her fingers caressed her sensitive little nub and she felt herself inadvertently squeeze her muscles around Ash's member.

“ _Lord have mercy,_ ” Ash pleaded as her hips gently rocked back and forth, pulling and pushing in and out of the Omega's yielding softness while she tugged and rubbed at the peak of her mound.

Victoria was beyond words. There was something very mild within her. It was not a sharp sort of pleasure. Not the kind that the Alpha was teasing with her errant fingers. It was gentle and it was deep and it demanded her attention for it was so different and delightfully strange. The hunger that her body had ached with was suddenly gone and it was replaced with the subtle movement of her partner and the gentle pressure upon this very specific—

“ _Alpha..._ ” She moaned while the thrusts into her body became sharper and Ash's fingers moved in a constant circle over the center of her. She could feel her body's reactions to the attention, tightening as if a bowstring while she keened and allowed the Alpha full control over her body. “ _Ahn! Ahn! Ahhhnnn!_ ” She gasped and panted, pleasure mounting while she hugged her pillow, soaking the soft, silken covering with saliva as her eyes rolled back. She was losing control, her vision hazing white again while she welcomed oblivion, her moans transforming into desperate sounds while her focus pinpointed hard upon the steady thrusts within her alongside and complemented perfectly by the intense sensitivity to the Captain's quickening fingers.

Her yelps became constant and she felt herself coming toward that rise. She bowed and pushed backwards while each sound drew out longer and longer until she was letting out loud high-pitched shrieking screams until she felt Ash's mouth on the back of her neck, those sharp, _sharp_ teeth piercing her in a quick and brutal bite that sent her careening over the edge of her pleasure, her whole body shuddering and shaking until it let her down in a petering out that flickered and waned while Ash took her own pleasure and lost herself.

Victoria panted and slowly came around, staring at the wet bedspread beneath her. The place where the silk had become soaked with...

“Oh no!”

Ash perked. “Oh no?”

“Oh no...” she was only able to repeat as the sharp throb from her bondmark came into her senses. The deep emotion of guilt played upon the featherings of satisfaction.

“What is it, little dove?” The Alpha was much too sated to have any true concern.

“I've...I've _soiled_ the sheets!”

There was a small pause before Ash began to laugh, pulling herself from within the little Omega and falling to her side upon the mattress, having to cover her face as her laugh continued, jerking her shoulders up and down with the force of it.

“Do not laugh, Alpha! I've embarrassed myself!” Her face was hot.

“No, no...please. You've just...it's not... Oh...Lord have mercy.” She reached out a hand and pulled Victoria until she had toppled the little woman on top of her. “Never mind that. Will you please be soothed if I tell you that it is normal and that I would hope that it should happen again? As evidence of my skill?”

She was not convinced. How in the world could _urinating_ on herself and the bedspread be _normal_ in the slightest!? The damned Captain must be mad to think such a thing to be... _Well..._ Certainly, the Alpha has had many more experiences than she has had. If it was normal to have done such a thing, then who was she to consider that it was not? It was not as if she had anything on which to base that idea.

_I did not even have to go beforehand...and it was so terribly involuntary..._

“It cannot be normal...” she replied weakly.

“Trust me, little one. You've soiled nothing. Please. Settle yourself. I will dry you off...but first...” She rearranged their bodies in order to lick the mark she'd made on Victoria's skin, lapping at the seeping blood and over her nape to calm her. She whispered, careful to puff short and comforting breaths behind her mate's ear. “I'm deeply enamored by you, Victoria. Valkyrie. Brave little dove. Do not ever be embarrassed by what I can make you feel. What I can make your body do...”

Her heart fluttered in her chest as she snuggled closer to her Alpha, closing her eyes when she felt Ash pull the sheet up and dry her thighs with it. After she'd thrown the sheet away, Victoria felt the heavy weight of counterpane settle over her and a wave of sated exhaustion hit her suddenly.

“Well...alright...” she sighed. “If you say it is quite common...then I suppose it must be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I missed "squirting" in the tags, I should probably fix that.
> 
> Ehyyyyyy, remember when we thought they were gonna do it in the first few chapters? 'Cause I remember and ho boy were we wrong. But hey. It's the anticipation that makes it all worthwhile, after all.
> 
> Everyone have a good day. See you Wednesday for the next chapter of [An American Dream](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11197440/chapters/25005387). You know, if you guys are reading that little O/O drama. If not, I'll see you Friday. :]


	19. Chapter 19

“Whatever you wish for, you will have it,” Ash murmured against Victoria's ear, both of her arms cradling her Omega while her fingers gently pinched and tugged upon hardened, pink nipples. She paused, formulating what she wanted to say while her mate sighed and arched, clearly enjoying the erotic attention. “If Father desires, we shall go to Eddington House and I will manage the estate. You will be far from your mother. Far from anyone who wishes you harm. Swophill will not know where to find you and if he does, I shall hold him down while you cut out his lying tongue. Are you sore, my love? Do you want me to touch you?”

“Oh,” Victoria mumbled. “How do you think so quickly as to switch topics so suddenly? I am near drunk on your touch and your scent and you speak so clearly... I feel so cloudy. Even after a night's rest.”

“Are you content, little one? Would you like me to bring you pleasure again?”

“I could not bear it. My nethers are going to go numb if they are to be subjected to more. How late is the morning? I feel practically ravenous.”

Ash kissed the side of her mate's head. “I will ring for breakfast.”

“Please do.”

After a decent set of breakfast fare and watching her pretty mate eat in bed, careless to her nakedness, Ash felt rejuvenated. She leaned back on the pillows as Victoria leaned forward over the breakfast tray and she inwardly preened as she inspected the mark she'd placed on the back of the Omega's pale neck.

“Does it hurt, dove?” Ash asked.

“Oh only a little sore,” Victoria replied. “It must be expected, after all, it was a number of times that we managed it and—” She paused, her fingers shooting to the back of her neck where she gingerly touched the broken flesh there. “Oh...” Her flush was very much becoming and she looked back toward the Alpha with wide eyes. “You meant the _bite_.”

Ash chuckled. “Yes, but I should care to know about all of your ailments if you were keen to tell me. I want you to be as happy and healthy as possible. If I can ever alleviate any of your pain, I should like the opportunity to at least try.”

“It stings a little, but nothing you should worry over. It will heal.”

“Perhaps a cold compress.”

“Do not fret over it, Alpha. Omegas have managed for hundreds of years with their Alpha's bite and I will not be distraught by mine. In fact, I will think it quite lovely. When my hair grows longer, I shall put it up all the time to show it off. Perhaps we shall go into town together during the seasons and I'll make certain to flaunt it to any of the Omegas who should cast their eyes your way.”

Ash's chest rumbled with laughter. “And what would make you believe that any Omegas would even care to look at me?”

“Why _wouldn't_ they? When I first saw you, I could scarce draw my eyes away. You're gorgeous, Alpha, and your scent is absolutely heavenly.”

“Lady Alphas do not attract attention, no matter how beautiful they are.”

“Nonsense,” Victoria shrugged. “You're every bit as regal and lovely as those strutting peacocks.” She moved the tray to turn over and crawled up, sliding one of her light, creamy thighs over to straddle Ash's lap. The soft curls at the crux of her nestled against Ash's groin and stirred her to life.

“If you are sore, little one—”

Victoria leaned forward and interrupted Ash with a soft kiss that began innocently enough, gradually multiplying into more of those simple pieces of a whole, littered with gentle sighs and impassioned fervor. They deepened and became more complex, Victoria's obvious inexperience dwindling with Ash's patient and wordless instruction. When the Omega drew away, she whispered, her lids lowered.

“You truly do not believe me to be a wanton woman?”

“I believe the term I should use for you is 'passionate.' It is much more diplomatic. Though, I daresay I like the idea of your wantonness. Provided that it is reserved for myself.” She grinned. “I do not wish to hurt you, if you are too sore then I should not embrace you again.”

“Oh very well,” Victoria conceded shyly. “Perhaps later.”

“There is no 'perhaps' about it, little one.”

Victoria bit her bottom lip and thought for a moment before she leaned forward and put her arms around Ash's shoulders in a sweet and tight hug. “Thank you, Ash. For everything. All this time and I've been cursing my luck. But everything that I thought was rotten luck was actually for the best. I am so glad to be here with you. I cannot tell you how happy I am.”

She wrapped her arms around Victoria's middle and felt a warm wetness on her neck and shoulder. “Please do not cry, dove. There is little an Alpha can handle less than an Omega's tears.”

“I'm sorry,” she replied, her delicate voice muffled by Ash's neck and shoulder. “I am overcome by it. I swear to you that they are not tears of sadness. I am warm and safe and I have found _my Alpha_.” She sniffled. “Mullins said that he does not take stock in the tale of truemates. I do not know. I surely could believe in such a thing.”

Ash tightened her arms about her mate, her heart filling with liquid warmth. “I swear to you, Victoria...I could believe in such a thing as well. When I look at you, I could not imagine having anyone else.”

When Victoria finally sat up again and wiped at her eyes with the heel of her palm, she sniffled and gazed at the Alpha with imploring eyes. “If it is not too much to ask...I should like to know if it would be possible to procure my lady's maid, Anna. I should like to find her. If we could write to my mother...now that I am married...”

“Of course, little one. In fact, I should send one of Father's men out to fetch her if you would like. He would be able to find her if she is no longer in your mother's employ and bring her back for you. You will surely require her services if she is available. Especially when your hair grows longer. I am much too clumsy to be dithering about with hair and your enviable locks surely require a master's touch.”

The Omega wiggled out of Ash's lap and slid off the bed, pulling on a dressing gown before she rang the bell to be dressed. As she had no clothes to speak of, she was at the mercy of Theodore's wardrobe and the servants' choices. She ruffled her short hair with one hand while she peered at herself in the mirror. “I suppose she will be absolutely scandalized by you. A Captain!” She turned around and beamed with her tiny hands on her slim waist.

The sight was positively endearing. Her tiny Omega beaming with pride over her mate was something Ash never thought she was going to get used to seeing. She sent up a small prayer that she might be blessed to see such a thing every day until her death, so cute as it was. She got up and pulled on some trousers just as Mullins came striding in with a set of clothes for Victoria. Ignoring the way Mullins flushed at her half-nudity, she spoke. “I'll send Carlton to fetch your clothes from the ship. If Father sends us to Eddington, we should do business at the tailor...or the dress maker, whichever you would prefer. I should let you know, dove, that I do not expect to allow you out of my sight. And if you are not with me, I shall not allow you to be without Malto. I trust him with you and I cannot abide that there is a dangerous man loose in the countryside who may have reason to take vengeance upon you. Not to mention that _Alpha_.” She growled the word through gritted teeth, surprised at her own acid tone. “I should speak to my father today about John's condition and visit my brother. I would prefer that you did not accompany me. There are some fools who believe consumption to be a hereditary disease but upon the sea, it is obvious how sicknesses travel.”

Victoria nodded reverently and when they were fully dressed, they found the Duke sunning himself in the pleasant English weather upon the veranda.

He was leaned back in his chair and he cracked an eye at the sound of their approaching steps. “Ah, the newlyweds emerge. Congratulations, to the both of you. A good, solid bonding. Hold on, I shall get up and move to the shade and we could have some morning tea. Your valet or...first mate...whatever he is, had some tea that you brought from Charleston with him and he was gracious enough to sate my curiosity for American tea. It sounds quite unpatriotic of me, I'm certain, but I quite like it.”

Ash snorted. “Just like Carlton to pilfer a bar of tea. He hasn't got the interest in silks or furs but you put a shipment of tea in front of him and he's always got a bar of it in his damn pocket. Very well. Morning tea then.”

When they had moved and the tea was set up before them in their nice _English_ porcelain pot, her father cleared his throat. “I'm certain that when you spoke to John, he was very clear. I've discussed the matter with him at length and I've been hoping ever since our conversation, that I would be able to convince you of your duty to this family and to your name.”

She sighed, taking a sip of her tea. “I assume that is to say, you truly do wish to title me.”

“I do. In fact, I probably should have been the first to think of it but old Netherfield was in a bit of a scrape and I'd already followed convention. You would not have been my second choice in heirs if I had considered you an option as I should have. For that, I am truly sorry, Ash. I'm certain there are plenty old fools like me who are beginning to regret their decision to pass over their bright and compassionate Alpha daughters for a lesser Alpha male. Not that your brother was a poor choice...but he lacks your reaching intelligence and your superior acumen. What made you a successful Captain is what will make you a brilliant Duke.”

“He is not dead yet, Father,” she muttered into her teacup.

“He does not have to be. It is my choice who is to be my heir and his illness, even if it alleviates could return. Consumption has that nasty trait of being something that comes back from time to time, you know.” He regarded her evenly.

She nodded. “It seems rather cold that you should take it from him. I've no need for your title, Father. John could still produce viable heirs...”

“I'll not have you martyr your future. You're going to be absolutely brilliant and you're not going to be the only woman Lord. Lady Netherfield is doing splendidly and holds her own quite well. I should think she would take kindly to a kindred spirit and John, for his part, seems restless to be unburdened. I'm not giving you a choice, daughter.”

She glanced at Victoria who was politely sipping her tea beside her. “Mate?” she asked, drawing the Omega's attention. “What say you?”

Victoria's brows shot upward. “I've no say! I follow the wind, Alpha.”

“Very well,” Ash sighed. “I supposed you might have me manage Eddington House.”

“You've supposed correctly,” her father smiled. “It will give our dearest here some experience in managing a household as well.” He cast his warm gaze over Victoria. “The housekeeper will be sure to teach you well. She's a grizzled old thing but she loves to instruct.”

Victoria straightened. “Oh yes. I would very much like to learn.”

“Wonderful. That's all settled then. Will you need anything of me?”

Ash cleared her throat. “We were considering sending a man to fetch Victoria's former lady's maid. Might we use one of your staff?”

“Of course.”

“And if John were to take a turn...”

“I would send for you immediately. Oh. There is one small thing.” Her father's smile tightened to appear coy.

Ash quirked a brow. “Yes?”

“I would have you take Georgiana...and Theodore. I fear for them, especially the youngest. He is quite attached to your brother and I could not bear to lose him to consumption. I'm certain you've noticed that he's softened me.”

“A feat even Georgiana could not surmount,” Ash chuckled. “Yes. I will take them.”

He blew out a relieved sigh. “I've sent a letter to London for a Runner. You two should be off to Eddington before he arrives but I swear to it that he will get to the bottom of this kidnapping business. Your strapping lad, Malto, is a good choice for a guard but no doubt you should be sending him to your ship. There is a footman at Eddington named Walter who would do nicely for the job. Once you arrive, you should send your helmsman on his way. Tell him to bring me some more tea wherever they go...”

She snickered. “Of course, Father. We should ready ourselves to leave for the estate tomorrow morning.” She finished her tea and stood. “If you will excuse us, Father, I should tell Georgiana and Theodore to prepare. I'm certain they will wish to say farewell to their brother. Victoria, if you should like to stay here and finish your tea, that is acceptable, I should send for Malto to—” she looked upward to find the Alpha already standing a few yards away with his hands folded before him. “Well...as he is already here, you are free to do as you will.”

“I will stay if you do not mind. I have not had the chance to ask your father to tell me any embarrassing stories from your youth.” She grinned mischievously.

“Oh yes,” Ash agreed. She wanted to laugh but with the conspiratorial expression on the Duke's face, she wasn't sure if she could. “Fill her in, you old coot. I'll be rousing the little ones' ire by delivering them the bad news.” She wandered off to find Georgiana first. She found her practicing the pianoforte and was at least glad that Eddington would not be lacking in a skilled player.

The Omega perked at her arrival. “Oh wonderful, sister, you can listen to me practice.”

“I will have plenty of time to be entertained by you. I am to take you to Eddington House at Father's request. Will you go quietly or shall I roll you up in the carpet kicking and clawing?”

She drew up and laughed haughtily. “ _I_ am not the one who will put up a fight at relocation. Eddington is such a drowsy little town but I'm certain _I'll_ light it up. There are a few prominent families there but none on the level of ours. If I am to find a suitor there, do you think Father should hate him?”

“Does it matter?”

She tittered out a laugh and bit her bottom lip in response so Ash rolled her eyes with a sigh and wandered out of the room to find the one who _would_ put up a fight. She found him in John's room, sitting in the corner with a book in his hands. The two men looked up when she entered, one scent filled with joy at her arrival and one soured into the odor of a dying bouquet.

John chuckled when he turned his eyes to Theodore. His voice was husky and weak. “Theo. She is your sister. Be kind to her.”

The Omega did not respond but snapped the book shut.

Ash approached the bed and brushed her hand through John's hair, stroking his forehead affectionately with her thumb and warming at the way he leaned into her touch. “Good morning, brothers. I should not beg for any forgiveness from you, Theodore. Though if you take issue with the order, know it comes not from me. I am to take you and Georgiana to Eddington House.”

His scent became hard and tacky with his anger. “ _Absolutely not._ ”

“You may speak to Father about the order. I am merely the messenger.”

“And the executioner!” He was trembling. “I will not leave him.”

“That is not up to me to decide,” Ash murmured, petting John's hair while he closed his eyes. “You may take it up with the Duke.”

Theodore shook with fury, his scent diminished only in part by the gentle morning breeze that swayed the curtains into the room. “No. I wish to take it up with _you_. You are the one coming here to say it and you are the one who will preside over my life should I remove myself to Eddington. You will be my ruling Alpha and I will not stand for such an arrangement. I will take up my grievances with _you_.”

“Well enough,” she replied. “You cannot stay here. If John's illness were to spread to you, Father would be very much aggrieved by it. I am obligated to protect you and I will do so whether I have to take you there by force or by your own will.”

“Then _force me_ , Alpha.” He sniffed, turning up his nose and jutting out his chin. “Use your _Alpha_ voice on me. Or is that not something that the _fabled_ gentle Ash would do? Is that not something that the prodigal daughter has considered? Go ahead and call it out at me like the savage Alpha you really are under all of that grace and false modesty!”

John's voice cut through the air like the snap of a whip.

“ _Obey. Your. Sister._ ”

A sharp but soft gasp escaped Theodore's small body and his whole form stiffened while his pupils dilated and his scent was lanced by sudden shock and fear. He managed to turn his head toward the bed where John was staring at him with determined shining eyes. Theodore's voice was reedy and brimming with tears.

“ _John... How could you?_ ”

The Alpha sighed through his nose and settled back with his head again leaning toward Ash's caressing hand. “You Omegas. I'll not stand for your disrespect toward your guardian Alpha. She's ten times the Alpha I am and I expect you to give her the reverence she is due. Now shoo. Get your things together. Eddington is not so far away from me and I will take care to write.”

He had no choice but to follow the order, refusing to meet Ash's eyes as he rushed out, the scent of sorrow and betrayal lingering near the door.

She ran the pad of her thumb over one of his brows. “You did not have to do that.”

“Yes,” John muttered, “I did. He's an uppity little thing and he's been fattened on a diet of praise and acclaim ever since he was born. When Father realized that he'd lost you to the sea, he realized what it was possible to lose. It was not Theo who made him kinder. It was you.” He snickered. “He used to tell Theo all about you. He's been fed all of your antics and your adventures. Georgiana used to read your letters.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Those were supposed to be for _her_.”

“You painted such beautiful scenes with your words,” he mused. “I think Theo was quite jealous of us. That he had never met you. That you did not know him. That you could not care for him like you cared for the rest of us. He could no longer believe that you were some kind of Goddess or perfect in any way. Somewhere along the line, he lost faith that you would come back and love him. And now that you are here, he has made it his mission to prove himself right. That you are flawed and faulty and somehow worse for it.” He cracked his eyes and smiled up at her. “We've done quite wrong by you to have made you into a saint when we should have assured him that you were only human, after all.”

“Well,” she sniffed. “At least I can be comforted to know that none of his bite is in any way my fault.”

Just as she was about to tell John that she would sit and read to him, a shrill and hideous terror-stricken scream reverberated through the halls of the manor and through the chambers of her heart. She and John froze, staring at each other for a moment before she felt the blood run out of her face and John whispered in tense horror.

“ _Theo_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This lil Theo, I tell you WHAT. Jay-sus.


	20. Chapter 20

Ash probably broke the door when she barreled through it. She hadn't meant to but one couldn't always predict when their adrenaline was going to trigger their _Alpha_ strength. The splintering of the splitting wood barely even registered to her ears when she practically flew through the house and down the stairs, the echo of that horrible scream ringing in her ears. It was as if she could not run fast enough. As if time were slowing down as she leaped down the last few steps and sprung forward until she could make the turn toward the front hall.

The wide double doors were both flung open and the bright sun streaming onto the marble floors illuminated a horror she soaked into her mind in a mere half-second. Widdle was slumped against the wallpaper, the dent above him evidence to the action taken against him and the madman himself was hunched and ragged. Clutched in his arms was not Victoria but a struggling and frantic _Theo._ There was blood staining his cravat.

“No...” Ash blurted, becoming pale.

“ _Oh yes,_ ” the man who once was Handel Swophill replied. Now he was nothing. His eyes were bloodshot and wide and his clothes were ruffled and dirty. He stank of madness. His voice wavered, coming and going in ripples of sound. “You _stole_ from me, Neverell. You took _everything_ from me. This...this was my _last chance._ I was going to be _free_.” He looked down at Theodore, still struggling and whimpering in his arms, held fast by that horrible Alpha strength. “Now...now...I'll marry _him_. I'll make him respectable again. You _owe me this!_ ”

Fury raged through her. “You think I'd allow myself to be blackmailed? Allow my brother to marry you!?”

Harsh confusion etched its way into his frenzied features.

She barked out an incredulous laugh. “You thought I would pay your debts if you could hold him against me? I should think that I would be no less of a disgusting human being than you are if I should have agreed to such a hideous and ill-formed plot!” She took a step toward him but paused when he staggered backward, jostling Theodore with the movement and sending a few droplets of his blood to the marble floor. She felt people behind her and Swophill's gaze moved between them all, finally settling back on her. “You lost confidence in Hal, I see,” she distracted. The inconspicuous form of her first mate was just barely discernible at the edge of the doorway behind the madman..

Swophill didn't take the bait, still confused and growing increasingly irate. “He's _ruined!_ You _have_ to give him to me!”

“I don't have to do anything,” she replied easily. “I believe the one who holds power over whether or not he would like to marry you is my brother. The one you're ruffling right now. What say you, Theodore?”

The Omega roared in his fury. “ _Are you absolutely bloody crazy?! I'll see him dead before I marry him!_ ”

Ash took another step forward, forcing Swophill to take another step back, his manic state enough to keep him from noticing that Carlton had slipped behind him. She took two more steps forward and he staggered back just as Carlton put out his foot and braced himself, tripping the Alpha backwards while Ash rushed forward, managing to grab the front of Theodore's waistcoat just as Swophill let him go in his tumble.

With Theo tucked tight against her, his tiny hands balled into her clothes while he held her tight, she inspected the Alpha's prone form crumpled at the bottom of the stone steps.

She looked at Carlton. “If he's not dead, go with another footman and send for a doctor. Though,” her mouth quirked at a sick shine of blood upon the stone, “I've a feeling you may not need one.”

Carlton lip twitched and he murmured back without looking at her. “As you wish, Captain.”

When she turned around again, it was as if the whole house was pouring into the front hall, her father taking deep strides forward with is shoulders tight. He touched his hand to Theodore's head, gently urging him to tilt even as he still hid his face from all witnesses against Ash's bigger body.

“Please don't look at it,” he whimpered.

“Hush, dove,” the Duke cooed. “It's not so bad.”

“If only,” he sobbed. “I'd rather have been torn apart.”

Father barked his orders. “Ms. Paulson, send some men for a doctor for Mr. Widdle and when he arrives, tell him that I will need to speak with him after he's finished. Miss Fowler, please, a comfrey poultice to Theodore's room as fast as you can manage it. The rest of you, disperse. Find something to make yourselves useful.”

The two of them took the distressed Omega up the stairs and to his room where they stripped him down with Mullins and put him into his dressing gown, all the while holding clean cloths to his wound to stem the bleeding. The mark was midway down the side of his neck and at least the damned Alpha had yanked downward on his cravat to bite but even still, it could not be fully hidden. She and the Duke examined it while Theo squirmed and sniffled upon his bed, finally allowing himself to be tucked in.

“Cowardly fellow,” the Duke mused while he sat on the edge of the bed and dabbed a fresh cloth over the seeping mark. “It is a great many things that can turn an Alpha feral. Sometimes there is that one straw, as you know, that breaks the camel's back. I wonder what it was.” He sighed through his nose. “Oh, my dearest, Theo. You _are_ in a pickle, aren't you?”

Ash covered her eyes. “If I hadn't come home...if I'd...”

“No,” Theo said. “You cannot take blame for him. I won't let you. I'll blame you for a great many things but I cannot blame you for a man's insanity.”

“Very well,” she muttered. “The sentiment is appreciated but it will not keep me from feeling terrible about it.”

The doctor took around forty-five minutes to arrive and by the time he was finished making sure that Widdle was to recover from his concussion, Theo was gently snoozing with the comfrey poultice against his neck and his body propped up upon his pillows. Ash had not moved in that time even when Victoria visited to give them all a bit of tea, watching him sleep as the older Beta doctor moved to the other side of the bed and held the backs of his fingers against the Omega's forehead.

“A willful young thing,” he noted in a voice that was aged and kind. “He's been through quite a shock and no hint of a fever.” His smile was woeful when he removed the poultice without waking the dozing Theo. The Duke walked in just as he made his next statement. “The comfrey will heal it faster and take some of the anger out of it, but it will not prevent the scar. It may be less than it would have been but it will still be present.”

The Duke nodded severely. “There is no helping it, then.”

“No, I'm afraid not. It is an awful thing to happen to one so young. He'll be hard-pressed to find a mate. Though, it is not impossible.”

Ash growled low. “I should have killed the bastard in America.”

Her father gently touched her shoulder. “We cannot change our circumstances now. I still wish for you to take the two to Eddington. It will help Theo to be away for a while. We'll have to determine what in the world we're going to do about his season...”

She felt a gentle touch upon her hand as it rested on the edge of the bed and she turned it to grasp her brother's searching fingers, his eyes upon her. His voice was clear and collected.

“I will have Mullins gather my things.”

She felt a pit open up within her and she whispered to him, drawing his knuckles to her mouth. _“God, little one. I'm so sorry._ ”

* * *

She hadn't expected to see Ash walking across the lawn late in the afternoon but when she did notice her, Victoria didn't bother to stop what she was doing. Mostly because Malto was waiting for her to pull the trigger, which she did in short order. With the shot fired safely into a target, she looked down at the pistol in her hand and then back up at the Genoese sailor and smiled.

“Good Lord,” Ash breathed. “You actually hit the thing,” she marveled as she stopped short beside her. “Well done.”

“I've never shot one before. It's quite exhilarating. Malto is a brilliant teacher as well. How is Theodore? I've been worried sick and this was about all we could do to take my mind off of it. Though, I cannot be sad to say that Mr. Swophill is...”

Ash appeared unsurprised, giving Malto a meaningful glance that Victoria did not miss and did not want to ask about. “Theodore is doing about as well as he could be. We will be leaving for Eddington in the morning. Malto and Carlton will leave for _Apollo_ tonight.”

Malto bowed to Victoria, accepting his pistol from her. “You shoot brilliantly, _cara_. Fear to any man who hurts you, _Valkyrie_.”

Victoria slanted a glance to Ash. “I see your effect on them. It's a good thing they'll be without you for a few trips overseas so they cannot be further corrupted.”

A chuckle escaped the auburn Alpha and she dismissed her helmsman and put out her arm which Victoria took to stride with her through the lawn toward the garden. “He is fond of you. You and your strange manner of dressing and your incredible bravery. Were you in the hall? I did not notice.”

“No. Malto did not let me go from the terrace. He was quite protective, you would have been very proud of him. When Theo cried out, I leaped upward immediately but he was very keen to keep me from running _toward_ danger. I say, it must have been the first time _that_ particular impulse has struck me.” Her face warmed. “Normally, I am running _from_ such things.”

“You're much braver than you give yourself credit for.”

“I suppose your father is furious.”

“In his own way, yes. John was more animated about it. If he were any less sick, I would have had to hold him down in his bed to keep him from tossing Swophill's corpse from the church tower for good measure.” She chuckled. “Father has sent for the authorities who will no doubt wish to speak with all of us before we leave for the other estate and I, for one, have no intention of letting them speak to Theo about it. He's been through enough as it is, he doesn't need to be probed.”

As it turned out, the inspector who called came only the next morning, having come quickly enough for the death of a potential future peer. He left entirely satisfied and betrayed that the current Viscount of Vritton was in no way surprised by the hideous end that his son had managed to procure. It was revealed as Victoria and Theo were hidden around the corner to the drawing room, that Mr. Swophill had, in fact, been _disinherited_ and it was to be only through a respectable marriage that he would regain his rightful place as heir. The current Lord Vritton had only too many Alpha sons who could take his place and whom were presumably much less frivolous with their spending habits. After the inspector left, the news of Swophill's death spread far and wide in the Society Papers and was accompanied by the inconspicuous marriage notice that informed the ton of Victoria's wedding.

After all was settled, they left for the Neverells' secondary estate without much fanfare, Theo tearful much of the time not from the attack upon his person but still from the prospect of having to leave his only brother. Victoria was consoled at least with this matter by Theo's curious behavior while stuffed into the coach next to Ash. Halfway into the trip, fatigued as he was, he curled into a small, distressed ball and cuddled into Ash's side, allowing her to wrap one strong arm around him to hold him against her. His scent evened out and stayed that way even after he woke and nuzzled against the nook of her shoulder until she gently rubbed at his nape. Perhaps, Victoria thought, all would be well.

They were all at Eddington for two weeks before Victoria finally was able to again embrace her lady's maid. Anna appeared weary from the travel but she was in especially high spirits when she pulled from her cloak a small letter.

“Your mother gave it to me to give to you,” she stated plainly. “She was quite shocked by the marriage announcement, as you must have assumed.” The Beta gently grasped Victoria's hand. “We've missed you, Miss Victoria. I missed you most of all.”

“And I you.” She grinned. “You've no idea how trying it is to have a bearded seaman acting as your valet. Come to the drawing room and sit with me for a spell while I read this. You can meet Theodore.”

She followed, taking off her bonnet and crimping it in her hands. “Oh but Miss Victoria, it wouldn't be proper for me to...”

“Posh on all that, don't you want to know what Mother wrote?”

She bit her lip and wandered in, standing while Victoria sat. The butler of Eddington, a tall and relatively young Beta named Mr. Hart came and took Anna's cloak and bonnet for her, leaving her to press her hands together behind her back while her mistress fiddled with the letter.

Theo, stuck to Victoria's side as always, was drinking his tea on the settee and watching her as she held it, unopened. With shaking fingers, she looked at him, uncertain as to whether or not she actually wished to read it.

“Well?” Theo asked.

“What if she is admonishing me?”

The little male Omega tilted his head in apparent disbelief, the ragged pink of his scarring mark peeking up over his starched cravat. “You say that as if you haven't been through much worse.” He looked upward. “You must be Miss Rathers.”

Anna gave him a curtsy. “Pleased to make your acquaintance Master Neverell.”

“Pleasure. I hope we aren't too wild for you. I'm certain you'll be able to commiserate with Mullins, the poor man.”

She giggled. “Honest, I'm not sure what I was sent for. Here I am and my mistress wears men's clothes and has no hair to speak of. Where am I without coiffures and the tiny buttons on the backs of gowns?”

Victoria laughed. “Oh, dear me, I hadn't thought of that! You're here for moral support and for Lady Neverell's hair. I promise you, Anna, you'll do wonders with it. She's got a mane like no other. I'm certain you'll be able to do it justice far better than I could, though don't expect her to keep it in order. Half the day through and most of her pins are falling out.” She was distracting herself, still holding the unopened letter with nervousness fluttering in her gut.

“Good lord, open that letter before I die for want to know,” Theo sighed, sprawling back on the settee.

“Alright, alright.”

 

_Dearest Victoria,_

_In light of recent events, I must extend an apology to you, dear daughter, for I have severely misjudged your character. When you had expressed a reluctance to marry Mr. Swophill, the heir to a considerably prestigious title, I had thought you merely the victim of an Omega's whims of fancy. Plenty of them are crippled by the unwillingness to be wed but clearly there was no such barrier for you against Lady Neverell for you seem to have made yourself an even more advantageous match than I had._

_Hope all is well. Perhaps I will see you in town this season?_

_Yours,_

_M- Lanchester_

 

Anna smiled hopefully. “I promise you she was not entirely cross. Though she was quite so when you disappeared. She put me down in the kitchens and Jimmy now works for another Lordship's estate though she couldn't exactly pinpoint which ones of us had had hand in your disappearance. Mr. Swophill was furious, as you can imagine. He found out not long after you'd gone and it was certainly fortunate that we removed you when we did. He surely would have trapped you if we hadn't.”

Theo sighed and sank further down, melting into a puddle on the settee until he was staring up at the ceiling.

“Thank you, Anna,” she replied. “Perhaps later I shall have you come up with a tray of tea and we shall chat more. For now, you should find the housekeeper and get yourself settled in to rest. You've had a long journey.”

She curtsied again. “Yes Miss.”

After Anna had gone, she turned to Theo with her brows high. “You don't have to hold back on the dramatics. I swear you haven't even cried to my knowledge. I'd be fair shriveled up from the amount of tears I would have shed. No need to act the martyr. Just be out with it!”

He groaned in a noncommittal fashion. “Your mother had it right, Victoria. Omegas are all probable to reject the idea of marriage anyhow. Why should I be any different? I shouldn't even want to get married. I should be happy to be free of the burden. I should be happy not to go to town and be presented like some kind of carrot to entice those barbaric Alphas into marrying into our family. After all, we still have Georgiana. I should thank my stars that I wasn't already presented to the ton else they'd chew me apart in the papers.”

She took his hand and patted it. “You will hold strong as long as you can and then when it comes time, you can come to me.”

“I swear to you, Victoria, I've made peace with it.”

“And I've made peace with having accidentally killed a man.” She stared at him. “At least...I have for now. So. Let us make a deal with each other. If I become overwhelmed by something, I shall come to you. If you become overwhelmed by something, you shall come to me. Does that sound pleasing?”

He pouted for a moment and then nodded, squeezing her hand gently. “Yes. That is acceptable at least.”

“Wonderful. Now. I heard that there were some biscuits in the kitchens waiting until after supper but if I was told correctly, they're hiding in the pantry. Would you care for some?”

He sat up like a shot. “This was not presented to me sooner for what reason now? I'm practically starving.”

She giggled and was half-dragged to the kitchens, their laughter filling the halls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I sincerely apologize if this chapter seems in any way rushed. I have all of my family over at MY house and it's all I can take to both work and entertain at the same time. Much less write. I hate wrapping shit up at the end of stories anyway and here I am doing it with 15+ people wondering where I went.
> 
> Next chapter is the last official chapter. I'll most likely be tacking on a short story to the end in Theo's point of view.


	21. Chapter 21

It had taken a long time for Victoria to become used to sleeping with another living body in her bed. She was often so averse to the notion that she forbid Ash from touching her as she slept, unable to handle the strain of sleeping while the too-warm sensation of another body was so close to her. But as the days turned into weeks and she felt herself growing closer toward the inevitable first heat of their marriage, she became increasingly more affectionate and needy, often waking in the middle of the night only to force her way under Ash's arm to cuddle her aggressively.

It was one such night, when she had nestled herself under her mate's arm when she awoke in the silver moonlight to find that she was absolutely sopping wet, her face buried against her Alpha's neck while she pulled in deep and desperate lungfuls of that wonderous scent.

 _Mate. Kiss. Lick. Touch. Breed. Breed._ _**Breed.** _

“Ash,” she whispered into the cool night air, taking a hard gasp in to steady herself, very nearly lost to the world for the intensity of her instincts. “Ash...”

The Alpha stirred, coming to wake with the same sort of abruptness that Victoria had come to expect from one who was suddenly inundated with the heat scent of their...their _truemate._ “ _Blast it all, Victoria,_ ” she muttered into the night while she turned and suddenly pressed her lips against the Omega's.

“Mmf!” Victoria protested into her mouth. The kiss was intense and complex, a flurry of hands and arms and touches that complemented the way the Alpha's lips moved over hers in a rhythm of soft presses and delicate pulls. The wet sounds that emanated from the ways that the Alpha kissed her drew her into a soft and slow building frenzy that pulsed between her legs, her drawers suddenly wet and slippery with an obnoxious amount of slick that made her wriggle and writhe in order to spread open.

“Oh,” Ash murmured into her mouth. “I'm going to make you _scream_ , little Omega. I promise you.”

She let out a puff of a gasp before she anchored the weight of her kiss straight upon her Captain's mouth, pushing the Alpha back and taking her by surprise while she moved to straddle the older woman, laying atop her and pressing downward, letting slick run out of her body and over the soft planes of Ash's belly, dripping from either side of her. She could hold her upper body up only so far and her hips inadvertently rocked in her ardor, the tips of her small breasts just barely brushing against her mate and stiffening into tight pink peaks.

“Mmmmmmm,” Ash groaned, capturing Victoria's plush bottom lip in her mouth and refusing to let her go, kindling a loving giggle from the Omega's throat even as those gentle fingers moved between them, searching out the little one's hidden pearl.

“ _Ahn!_ ”

“Don't fight me,” Ash warned in her whisper, drawing her thumb over the center of her. “Don't fight what I can do to you.”

“Alpha!”

“What do you want, Victoria?”

She moaned wantonly, “I'm in _heat_ , you damned woman, I want you to _help_ me.”

Ash's hands were suddenly upon her hips and were drawing her upward until she shifted farther and farther, confused until the Alpha pulled her down so that the steady string of slippery and stretchy fluid came down over her lips and chin. The Captain opened her mouth wide with her tongue out to catch it, groaning in satisfaction at the taste of her. She pulled down until Victoria was practically sitting upon her face and when her lips and tongue _opened_ the little Omega, Victoria couldn't help but let out a loud, breathy moan.

“ _Alpha, Alpha, Alphaaaahhh._ ”

Her hips rocked against the wet heat of her lover's mouth and her hands shot out to the headboard, gripping the hard wood with all of her strength while her fever raged and her arousal pulsed until it exploded in a heavy and all-consuming shudder, her body heaving with pants and gasps of exertion.

“Oh! Oh! _Ohhhh!_ ”

Another orgasm wracked her on the heels of the first, jolting her hard while she pressed herself down into Ash's mouth, letting her Alpha feel with her tongue the way her body grasped and squirmed, searching for something that only her lover could give her.

“Please, Ash,” she begged, her head lolling backwards while the Alpha worked her quivering flower with her tongue, the swollen bead that was lavished with attention nearly too sensitive, each pass of her gentle tongue inciting desperate and shrill whines while she shivered and wriggled her body searching for more. Searching to be _fulfilled._ “Please... _Ash_.”

Her Alpha lifted her and with a voice husky with barely contained lust, she rasped, “ _Ride me, Victoria._ ”

Stealing her way down the Captain's body, she moved until she found that persistent pressure, the mix of hardness and softness that pushed against her wet, open body. Her teeth chattered in anticipation while she let the tip of it slide against her to open her, back and forth, pressing against her until she teased against, letting it smooth between her pink and perfect little folds of flesh. Finally, she allowed it to settle against her entrance, pushing and wriggling until it could breach her initial tightness, easing her open and sliding within her as a result of the copious amounts of slick that seeped from around it.

There was a gentle breeze flowing from the open windows, shifting the curtains and cascading over Victoria's overheated body, tightening her nipples while it caressed her arched body. She sighed with a profound and sudden understanding that she didn't have the wherewithal to qualify, too caught up in the moment and the feeling and the power of everything happening around her and within her to contemplate deep thought. It was a hounding and insatiable need that was just barely relieved by the movement that Ash started up within her, the gentle back-and-forth motion crashing over her with the salty ocean scent of her Alpha, the waves and sand and the wind that filled her sails whirling through her mind while she moaned into the moonlight.

Ash's rigid Alpha member slowly plunged in and out of her, the place where it had swelled at the base butting up against her each time her weight brought her back down to sit upon her lover's lap. As the thrusts became more indulgent, harder and harsher, the press of the knot was more insistent until the Captain's large hands took her hips and pulled her down while she arched up, working to fit _all_ of her inside.

“A-Ash...” Victoria groaned, the pain of her Alpha's knot something of a constant stretching, easing slightly when the Captain backed off a bit. They did this several times, gently stretching and working her open until the whole of Ash's knot had slid deep inside her, her muscles clenching hard around the base of it while the two of them shared a joint sigh of relief. Victoria's tight passage was flexing regularly, the effort to milk her mate's knot pulsating and creating a constant and steady rhythm of pleasure that led her into a gradual shivering climax that she shared with her Captain, held steady by the hands upon her ribs and cooed into a silvery, moonlit trance.

Boneless and breathless, she cuddled downward into her Alpha's waiting arms and upon her heaving breasts, nudging her face into the nook of Ash's shoulder and dozing for only just a few minutes before she stirred, still bound to her mate by the power of their physical predicament.

“Alpha?” she whispered.

“Mmm?”

“I'm thirsty.”

Ash stirred a bit. “Oh, the servants are probably still all abed and we seem to be trapped together...”

“ _Thirsty_ ,” she whispered, humming a bit where she lay.

A moment went by and Victoria was nearly close to dozing again when she was lifted by her mate's arms, still trapped against her. She held tight to Ash's body, wrapping her slender legs around the Alpha's hips as she stood, draping a heavy quilt around them both and shuffling toward the door.

“ _Ash!?_ ”

“You said you were thirsty,” she explained, maneuvering her way to the door and wrenching it open, wandering down the hall only slightly encumbered by the awkwardness of being stuck together and holding Victoria tightly against her to keep her as comfortable as possible. The movement was by no means _unpleasant_ and it wasn't long before the friction of their bodies together upon the crux of her had her clenching even harder, her breaths coming in shorter and shorter bursts while her fever surged. Ash finally made it to the kitchens and fetched Victoria a glass of water which she drank with fervor, clutching the empty glass and breathing hard, squeezing with her legs in an attempt to press the hard length of her lover deeper into her.

“ _Alpha..._ ”

“I'm already inside you, dove. Do you need more water?”

“No...I...”

Much to her chagrin, her mate's knot was beginning to subside and Ash removed her delicately, leaving her feeling quite _empty._ She didn't like it. Not one bit. She whined against the sensation, the darkness of the barren kitchen starting to work its way into her consciousness.

“Hold on, little one.”

There was a rustle and she was deposited upon one of the work tables, still covered by that massive heavy quilt while Ash dipped beneath it and plunged two of her long, flexible fingers deep inside her, causing her to lean back with her gasp, the quilt falling from one of her breasts while she threw her head back and spread her thighs in an open display of her abandoned lust. She squeaked when her mate curled those fingers upward and brushed that place inside her that made her tingle pleasantly, the constant attention putting a tremble through her being.

“Ash, harder, please,” she mumbled, shifting her hips forward. “I want to feel your tongue...please...”

She did not have to ask again. Her mate gladly applied soft kisses over her straining and swollen folds, encircling the center of her teasingly while sampling the raw flavor of her welling slick and Ash's own spend that streamed out over her probing fingers. Finally. _Finally_. Those lips placed a sweet kiss over the spot she needed it most and the flick of her tongue sent Victoria into a dark spiral, a guttural moan escaping her tiny body.

“More! _More...!_ ” she begged, tilting backward until she was laying upon the surface of the table, writhing and wriggling in an effort to get more of her soft feminine mound deeper into her mate's mouth. Ash, of course, complied whole-heartedly, removing her fingers for the moment in order to deepen her sensual, open-mouthed kisses to Victoria's lower lips, urging her toward her pleasure with suction-filled attention and an earnest probing tongue. After several of Victoria's signature squeals of delight, she again filled the little Omega with her curled fingers, beginning quick and shallow thrusts against that blasted _spot_. Coupled with the haltingly strong sensation of the Alpha's tongue over her, Victoria stood no chance.

She arched upon the table and quivered madly, every muscle squeezing and contracting while she grunted and gasped out her climax, her toes curling and her teeth gritting. She could feel fluid spurting out of her and she couldn't stop it. She didn't _want_ to stop it.

She lay, spent. Unable to even make a sound other than her rasping and ragged breaths. After a short time, she recognized that she was wrapped again and collected into her Alpha's arms, carried up the stairs and tucked gently back into bed. She knew another wave would hit her eventually but this time she did not fear it. She felt that she would welcome it with all of her soul.

The sun came with it and she made love to her mate again, straddling the Alpha at first and then allowing herself to be dominated as the rush of emotion filled her and she pleaded for her Captain's knot.

Tightly trapped together, she threw her arms around Ash's neck and murmured sleepily.

“I'm hungry.”

Ash chuckled. “You should be. I should let you feast. You'll need the strength.”

“Mmmm...I cannot imagine an Omega should ever wish to be without this... I can't imagine what I was thinking. If I had never known that _this_ existed...I should have died without true happiness.”

“Some Omegas are not so fortunate as you are, little dove.” Ash beamed at her, gracing her with a simple and chaste kiss upon her lips.

Victoria frowned. “Oh dear.”

“What is it?” Ash asked while she reached for the bell pull to summon breakfast.

“I feel so terrible about poor Theo.”

The Alpha sighed through her nose. “I've yet to decide what's to be done with him. He can't have a season in such a state. I can't deprive him of an Alpha but the ton won't have him...it'll have to be his decision whatever he does...”

“If only there were some Alpha who was careless to a bite.” Victoria's frown deepened. “I mean, clearly there are Alphas who are unafraid of such things...aren't there?”

“It's rare that a mated Omega remarries...though...did you not say that Mr. Elridge had gotten himself a mate?”

“Oh yes,” she noted, smiling, “Mated to Lady Netherfield.”

“And father said that Netherfield has a plethora of...sisters, did he not?”

She narrowed her eyes. “What are you driving at?”

Ash chuckled and moved her little Omega atop her, further cementing her placed knotted within her. “Val Elridge was bondmarked when he was nineteen. I heard about it through letters and when I'd peeked into London a few times after I'd been gone for a while. It's amazing what certain Ladies can tell you if you press the right buttons at the right parties. Clearly, Lady Netherfield was not altogether concerned by such a trifle.”

“A _trifle_ ,” she repeated, scandalized.

“Indeed,” Ash mused. “Perhaps it is too much to hope that you might have caught wind of another Netherfield resident who is of a particularly dominant dynamic?”

“Oh,” the Omega squeaked, “You mean _Quinn._ ”

“If Quinn is an Alpha and a proper gentlewoman then yes, I mean Quinn.”

Victoria laughed, the sound clear and bright. “You are worse than the matchmakers! How are you to introduce them? What sort of plot are you cooking up in that Alpha brain of yours? I shall die of curiosity. Shall we write to Lady Netherfield? Shall we collude? Oh, I love romance.”

The rumble of the Alpha's laughter vibrated her small frame. “Do not put the cart before your horses, little dove. We should handle it quite delicately. These things, you know, take time. We will simply have to have a small dinner at the estate. After all, Eddington House is not so far away from Netherfield. An invitation outside of the season would not be so difficult to imagine...”

“Mmmm,” she hummed, closing her eyes and laying her head against Ash's shoulder. “Oh. How very thrilling. A small party. A blossoming romance.”

“Collusion. Matchmaking. Nudging...”

She pinched her mate playfully in the ribs and frowned at her. “Oh do not be so blunt. I wish to let them be romantic. I should start plans right away to host! It is my duty here as mistress of the house.”

“No,” Ash grumbled, enclosing her in a strong embrace. “I have a week alone with you in heat and I will not be allowing you to distract yourself in any fashion. You may fantasize about Theo's romance all you wish but you will not put pen to paper until I've ravished you to the end of your fever.”

“Oh, very well,” she giggled, tilting her head to the side in order to kiss her salty, ocean Alpha. “Though I have been thinking, Alpha,” she mused against Ash's lips, “Perhaps before our first pup is born...we should spend a bit of time...”

“A bit of time?” she asked, distracted with passion.

She bit her bottom lip. “I have merely been thinking about how much I would enjoy a bit of time... _at sea_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out pretty good for being written at midnight, posted over an hour late, and formed in the midst of family shenanigans. Believe it or not, they're _still_ here, chatting away in the living room while I ran away to be a hermit. They're used to that by now, I think. I think they know I have to get away and they don't bother me about it.
> 
> This is the end! At least the end of Victoria/Ash perspectives.
> 
> I hope you've all enjoyed this and I'm sorry I didn't resolve certain aspects of the plot. Obviously if this was something you paid for, I would expect to further flesh out what happened to certain plot elements that I conveniently left alone for the sake of my sanity. I don't expect that this will be the end of my F/F forays, but FOR NOW, I've got nothing in the works for more of them (Although plenty of side characters who lend themselves toward F/F relationships.)
> 
> If you're interested in chatting about ABO or you'd like to request some short drabbles, feel free to visit my Tumblr, [J.D. Writes](https://jdwrites.tumblr.com/). I'm open to headcanons, suggestions, fic recs, etc.


	22. Epilogue

_Dear John,_

_I'm certain Georgiana has written you and mentioned all the details of the party that Ash and Victoria have been planning to have. It's supposed to allow for us all to meet the neighboring families but_ _I couldn't care to see anyone. Everything is still so raw. I should like to stay hidden away_ _forever, but there is no use in trying to convince Ash to let me hide away the whole time. I will have to make at least one or two appearances and even that is enough to give me the willies. Everyone shall know. They'll all see. Is it enough to hope that they might forget all about me after they leave?_

_Gads, what it really comes down to is that I miss you. I cannot believe what you've done to me and I hope you know I am still utterly betrayed. I love you too much to be apart from you. Even though I know it's for the best, I don't know her as well as I know you and to, in such a short time, obtain a foreign ruling Alpha_... _it is so much. Though you were right about one thing, John, and I know you're overly smug about it—I can see it in my imagination plain as day. She is outrageously kind._

_Oh drat this party. Drat guests. I abhor the chaos that comes with get-togethers of all sorts. I will be at my wits end in no time and I will have to beg her to let me retreat from the staring and the questions. Thank god for Victoria, at least._

_I will look for your letter. Please take care of yourself and get plenty of rest. I hope mother is reading to you while I'm away._

_Yours,_

_Theo_

* * *

There was no breeze but the air had taken on the fine, thin hint of an autumn crispness in late September as it was wont to do around this time of year at Eddington House. Theo had taken to meandering about the grounds each day and usually, he was free enough that he would forgo formal dress. There was hardly any point to it most of the time. It wasn't as though he would have to practice it for the season. He wouldn't be _having_ a season. Putting the thought out of his mind at least for the moment, he took in a swoop of air through his nose and appreciated the scent of distant rain. Today he was dressed well though he had left his jacket shrouded over a chair on the terrace while he went for a walk in his waistcoat and shirt, his cravat tied uncomfortably high on his throat. He slid a finger under it and tried to slide it downward, even as he knew he shouldn't.

The grass looked inviting and he wished he could take his shoes off and revel in the feeling of its plushness on the bottoms of his bare feet but, as Ash had noted, the carriages would be arriving soon for their off-season get-together and it would be unseemly for someone to wander across him in full dress save his shoes. Dainty Omega feet were probably not something that stately professional noblemen should care to see. In fact, he thought glumly, there were several things that stately noblemen probably avoided if they could.

_Like unwed marked Omegas._

He sighed and put his hands in his pockets, roaming the grounds and studiously avoiding looking at the servants as they flitted about the terrace and the lawn preparing everything for the coming guests. It wouldn't be a large party. Only three other families were coming. Still, it was enough people that the news of his misfortune would spread far and wide. Farther than he wished it to spread, that was for certain.

With a good deal of stealth, he tried to slip back into the house via a servant entrance but he could not avoid Victoria who, in her adorable bumbling, managed to knock right into him as she was coming out of the kitchens.

“Oh drat,” she blurted, fluttering her hands about nervously. “I'm so sorry, Theo, I didn't see you and I'm just so overwrought and...”

He caught her elbows and straightened her to give her a look-see. Her hair had grown a bit longer though not long enough to put up in any sort of coiffure. It was mostly swept to the side and though short, it was lady-like and framed her face beautifully. She was clad in a cornflower blue gown trimmed in silver with a swooping neckline and which also fashionably bared her delicate and light-boned shoulders. She had been terribly conscious about going back to wearing dresses with her hair as short as it was so Theo made certain to praise her.

He cleared his throat. “No need to be sorry, Victoria. You look a dream in this dress. Why don't you go and relax in the drawing room while you wait for everyone to arrive? The servants have everything in hand, certainly, it would not do for you to appear stressed in front of the guests.”

“I know you're right,” she puffed out, straightening her skirts. “And thank you...I...I didn't want anyone to be scandalized by my clothes even if Ash did tell me that I could wear whatever it was that I wanted. I must say, there are attributes of each that I do enjoy. If only there were some way to combine the freedom of trousers with the beauty of gowns.”

“They do make suits for Omegas in pastel...” he supplied.

“It should hardly be the same,” she replied with a wistful sigh, “Without that little swish that happens when you twirl in a dance, it's not worth much to have anything in a different color.”

“I see,” he smiled while he escorted her to the drawing room. “I hope you wouldn't mind, I believe I might take my supper upstairs for tonight.”

Ash's booming feminine voice put a prickle into his spine.

“Absolutely not.”

She was standing in the entrance to the drawing room while Victoria sat herself down. The eldest Neverell with her imposing stature and impeccable dress was frowning down at Theo with her hands on her hips, appearing every bit the mighty sea Captain she truly was.

“You'll dine with the rest of us. I'll not have you hermit yourself away because you're embarrassed about something that was nothing to do with you. Nothing of the situation was your fault and I'll hold no patience for any guest who has the nerve to whisper about it, noble or not. If you forget, little dove, I am our father's heir and I suffer no fools.”

“Yes, my Lord,” he mumbled. It was easy to forget that with the paperwork signed and sent, John and the Duke had successfully bestowed upon Ash the title of Marquess. For certain she was Lordly but it was difficult to get used to. She was a woman, although an Alpha, firstly, and after his misfortune, she had been so damnably kind to him and receptive to him...even when he was rude to her. He would not disobey her. He could not. Even without the sting of John's Alpha words to him, he could not forget them.

_Obey your sister._

He had felt terrifically betrayed in that moment and it was hard, even now, for him to acknowledge that he understood John's reasoning for having done it. Because Ash never would. She did not think herself worthy of it. It was this modesty that Theo knew to be genuine. This humble acceptance of her title and her new responsibility was what constantly put him closer and closer to understanding her. John knew her. John loved her. She would not do wrong by him—he hoped.

Ash sighed. “I know it's been trying for you, but there's no reason that you should not be a perfectly acceptable presence in your own damned house. Aside from that, I'd like you to meet Lord Netherfield. It's not common to find male Omegas in our situation and I'd like for you to at least have someone about who isn't a vapid, fan-fluttering chit to chat with it.” She glanced at Victoria. “Not that you've ever been a vapid, fan-fluttering chit, my love.”

“A few times, perhaps,” Victoria chuckled, teasing Ash by flipping out her fan and fluttering it toward her neck.

“Yes, my Lord,” Theo mumbled again, moving to the bell cord to ring for tea. He could use some tea. _Strong_ tea.

Of course, as soon as he had his tea in his hands, he hadn't even taken a sip before the door was opened and the first of their guests arrived. He greeted everyone as graciously as he could before he somehow managed to remove himself without being noticed while everyone else chatted pleasantly in the drawing room. As he had just made his escape into the hallway with his teacup and his saucer, the door was opened again and his anxiety spiked, his steps quick and light and only somewhat panicked as he slipped out the french doors onto the terrace and hid in the shade of a towering thing that he thought used to be some kind of ornamental tree that got a bit out of hand.

“Gracious,” he whispered to himself as he lifted his cup to his lips, sipping even as he trembled. He wasn't ready. He had thought that he would be ready but he most definitely wasn't. He'd been introduced to the first family without a hitch even as their eldest Alpha son had given him a strange and lingering examination and the weight of it had made everything come rushing upon him so suddenly.

_How am I going to survive this?_

He heard the french doors open and he retreated back toward the stone wall of the house, deeper into the shade, clutching the teacup nervously to his chest.

“Oh,” the girl started, noticing him nearly immediately. “I apologize, I didn't mean to intrude.” Color was high upon her cheeks and her dress reminded him of Ash, her very male attire complemented by her rich hair drawn up in a simple coiffure. She was tall but not overly intimidating, her scent wafting to him and strong in its uniqueness.

“No...” he murmured, “It...it's quite alright. It is a bit overly stuffy...in the drawing room.”

She put a hand to the back of her neck and appeared bashful. “Forgive me. I fear I'll make everything much worse. I've a particularly strong aroma...I do not mean to...” She sighed and then turned to him fully to give him a deep bow. “I am Quinn Idlewind. I am pleased to meet you...”

He set his saucer and cup down upon the stone railing and returned the gesture. “Theodore Neverell.”

She nervously glanced back through the glass. “You know...it wasn't so very long ago that I didn't have a care for such things but now...I suppose we should not be alone together.”

“Hah,” he barked, lifting his teacup. “Do not fret yourself overly.”

“I should not wish to—”

“Compromise me?” He was incensed to find the tea in his cup shaking with his hand. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Thank you for your concern, Alpha, but it is unnecessary. Please, excuse me.” He took the last gulp of his tea and then pattered down the stone steps into the garden, fleeing the intrusion into his emotions as soon as he felt the tickle of sorrow creep into his heart. It was never beneficial for an Alpha to sense weakness. She would try to ease him or protect him, neither of which he needed.

Neither of which he _wanted_.

She may have been tall and she may have been an Alpha but he knew as well as anyone that premature presentations were not unheard of. After all, he was only fifteen. He didn't want her to get any stupid immature ideas about him.

_Or I about her._

He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and wandered around the house until he found a shady spot in the garden to sit in until the housekeeper found him and shooed him back inside to prepare for dinner.

Mullins was just making the finishing touches on his dinner outfit when he whined petulantly at the poor servant.

“Gracious, could you make this thing any more uncomfortable?” He brought his hands up and loosened his own cravat.

“Master Theodore, please,” Mullins pleaded. “If you want the bite to stay hidden as much as it can then you should leave it where it is.”

“It can't be hidden,” he spat. “No matter which way you put this damned thing, if it's not straight up to my chin, there'll always be a bit of it showing. I might as well just accept it.” He crumpled the thing onto the floor. “Please, Mullins, if you could just try it again and don't bother with covering it up.”

“Very well, Master Theodore. As you wish.”

It was all well and good that he could _say_ he'd come to terms with the blasted thing, it was an entirely separate matter to actually _be_ at peace with how his life had suddenly been altered in the course of a mere moment. When he was all put together, he left his room and immediately began to tremble again and he felt overly stupid for it. His confidence had been irreparably shaken. Fifteen. Fifteen and he was bondmarked and ruined and all over nothing. He knew that Ash would never allow him to be harassed in his own home but there was no protection from a moment of embarrassment. It could happen quicker than she could stop it and he wasn't prepared. One small word or misplaced question and he would crumple like a dried up leaf in autumn.

He took a steeling breath through his nose and whispered to himself. “ _Nothing for it then. Tally-ho, little one._ ”

He tried to remain as invisible as possible when he slipped into the blue parlor where everyone had gathered before supper but when one was late and as yet to be introduced to many, one suddenly became the center of attention.

“Oh how lovely you are,” Mrs. Handler remarked, an aging Omega present with her husband and her younger brother, a widower by the name of Mr. Whiskam. “A vision, of course.” She patted his hand lightly and he watched her eyes flit to his mark.

“Very pleased to make your acquaintance,” he replied, biting his bottom lip.

“Oh dear, you are a sweet little thing, and so quiet. Vernon, please come meet this poor little one, he such a pleasure upon the eyes.” Her voice was gaining a bit of emotion and Theo scented her wistfulness. It was his misfortune that had captured her typical Omega-like imaginings and he gritted his teeth to keep from thinking about it himself. He was very fortunately saved by Whiskam.

“Oh Lord,” Whiskam sighed, easing his way to the fore and knocking Mrs. Handler from her high emotion. He was an Alpha of average height, his hair mostly gray and a handsome face with, Theo noted, a bit of a hawk-like nose. Overall, he seemed like a serious gentleman and when he put out his hand and took Theo's, he bowed over it but did not kiss it. Thank god. He thought he might have jerked it away if he had. He wasn't prepared for such formalities here in his own drawing room. Whiskam crooned low and politely, “It is an honest pleasure, Mr. Neverell, please pay no attention to the ramblings of old women; your ears might fall off.”

He managed to stop himself before he could crack to wide of a grin to the assertion. “Oh my,” he murmured, “I shall keep the warning in mind. Thank you, Mr. Whiskam.”

“Of course, little one, if at any moment you should think that my sister is endangering you, you should only have to turn your pleading gaze to me and I will come to your rescue.”

“Oh you officious Alpha!” Mrs. Handler harumphed even as she was hustling him away from Theo with forceful shooing despite having been the very one who had invited him to be introduced.

Even as this drama unfolded, Theo's attention was grasped by the presence of a very tall Alpha that he assumed must have been Netherfield across the room. Her hair was short and she was simply enchanting to behold, the small nuances of her face and slight mannerisms betraying her as Quinn's sister. Before he could study her further, he was distracted by the blue-black hair and impossibly crystalline eyes of her mate—Lord Netherfield. He was standing beside her and was quite tall for an Omega. From a distance, he might have been able to pass for a Beta had he not been so ethereally beautiful and sporting a bit of a bump that showed him to be several months into pregnancy.

_How lucky_ , Theo thought.

Ash drew him away from any other guests before he could be questioned by them and he was never so glad to be drawn to her side. He kept to her as he quietly met the Idlewind sisters. The three Betas were polite and mild as they normally were, happy to meet him and happy to be in attendance. They didn't seem to notice his bondmark at all, uninterested in his neck and merely overwhelmingly polite. He liked them immediately.

“This is a lovely house,” Chastity Idlewind commented. “I didn't get to go outside but Quinn assured me that the garden is marvelous. She said that there was a walking path. Would it be open for wandering after dinner?”

Ash nodded. “Of course. I'll have the staff light the path for you if you wish. With a bit of warm clothing, I should say the night will be comfortable enough to spend some time outside.”

Quinn was lingering behind Lord Netherfield, and Theo's eyes caught her. Her strong fragrance was a constant presence and despite her apology earlier, he did not mind it at all. It was unique and spiced and reminded him of warm winter nights by the hearth with steaming mugs of apple cider touched with just a pinch of brandy if Georgiana could filch some from the cupboard. He wondered what it might smell like if he were to put his nose against her skin. Would it be too much? Would it be just enough? He felt his cheeks fill with heat.

_There you are, you silly git. Stop it right this instant with that tomfoolery._

As much as he wished that all of it would cease, he found himself sitting next to her at supper with Quinn to one side of him and Lord Netherfield across. To his right was the stable and comforting presence of Victoria and somehow he felt as if this were somehow arranged. Flashing a measured frown toward Ash, he did as well as he could.

Lord Netherfield eased in on him with a pleasant manner and a soft voice that had a decent calming effect. “I hope it is not our presence that has caused you some nervousness, Mr. Neverell.”

He leaned forward, his palms prickling. “Oh no. I swear to you, I am a naturally timid creature.”

Quinn's wide eyes were on him, innocently studying him.

“Ah,” Lord Netherfield mused. “Much like our little Alpha.”

“ _Little?_ ” he asked, incredulously giving Quinn a glance. She was _hardly_ little.

Netherfield chuckled, “Well, compared to her sister, she is smaller.”

Victoria interrupted as she let out a ladylike snort. “Do not let Theo fool you, my Lord, he is in no way a timid creature. He is as snappy as any Omega and one should beware his sharp edges. He will not shy from telling you exactly what it is that's offended him if you have.”

“Ah,” Netherfield smiled, “And here I was thinking I had a kindred spirit about to share in my timidness. It is one thing for an Alpha to share my trait, it is wholly another for me to find an Omega of the same nature.”

Theo could feel Quinn's presence beside him, her body radiating warmth and her scent smooth with her inquisitive calm. “I cannot imagine an Alpha as timid. Is that not against their very fabric?”

She answered in a low tone that was careful to reign in her Alpha harshness to create a more mild sound. It was perhaps natural for her to do so having come from a house filled with Beta girls. “I should think that when one presents, it cannot change them fully. I've spent so many years assuming that I would be a Beta like my sisters, I had no way of knowing that I should have been one way. It has been a terribly foreign feeling to be an Alpha all of a sudden. Although,” she quipped, “I do like wearing trousers.”

Victoria peeped. “Aren't they lovely?”

“Quite,” Quinn smiled. “I particularly like how they hug my legs. A very agreeable sensation.”

Theo couldn't help but chuckle, the tingle of his long-awaited laughter spreading through his chest and echoing through the chambers of his soul. Embers of something he thought were gone had suddenly come alight and when he dared give her another glance, he found her genuine openness tugging at the locked door to his emotions. There was a gentle pull against his heartstrings, a strum of sorts, that took him a moment to recognize.

_Oh god, don't do this to yourself. She's only an Alpha._

Their conversations after were easy and light and focused mostly upon the history of Eddington and an embarrassing account of how Quinn had thought she was going to present as the tallest of Omegas. He delighted in the way she hid her face when Netherfield nonchalantly related the tale and how her strong Alpha scent altered toward an amused shock at his audacity to giggle at her plight.

Victoria asked the one question Theo was dying to have answered and Netherfield was only too happy to oblige.

“My Lord,” she began, “Is this to be your first child? Do you hope a boy or a girl?”

His pretty face flushed delicately. “It will be the first, yes. I don't dare hope for anything save for them to be healthy and thriving as soon as they should make their arrival. I cannot say I should be much like other parents of the ton. I've missed my nieces so horribly, I daresay I could never pretend they don't exist like some of our number seem to do.”

“Oh that does sound horrid,” Victoria replied, wrinkling her nose. “I do love little ones. Especially the tiny babes. You are so lucky to have found Lady Netherfield. She is so charming and handsome. My mother was wretched to her once but then again, who has my mother spared with her blade?”

Netherfield barked out a becoming laugh and his eyes crinkled with his laughter. “Your mother is infamous, for certain. I say, the first time I saw her on a trip to London after my marriage, she was quite the force.”

“Oh dear, I hope she was not overly ruthless.”

“I have avoided many of them,” he confessed. “I cannot bear to think what they say about me.”

Victoria agreed. “A table of miscreants, for sure. Ash is constantly fretting over how she's going to reintroduce herself into society after being a swash-buckling merchant Captain for years and here I am having run away from home and cut off all my hair!”

Netherfield snorted. “And yet still so radiant and easily forgiven. By the time the season starts, they'll have forgotten all about it since you're married.”

Theo turned his attention toward his soup in an attempt to tune them out for now. It wasn't something he could think about. He was never going to be able to be introduced into society. He was never going to be able to peruse the marriage market. He was never going to find his truemate.

“Please don't be upset,” Quinn said, shocking him out of his reverie. Her voice was low and she dipped her head to speak to him discreetly. “It is not that you should not feel and feel deeply, it is only that if I scent your sorrow, I cannot help but empathize and a similar emotion causes a very odd odor. As if...as if your hair were to be singed from a candle. It's not pleasant...”

“Oh,” he brought his hand to his chest. “I-I see...I do not mean to be morose.”

“One never means to be morose. Sometimes one is simply melancholy. Especially when things have been thrown into disorder.” She whispered to him. “I _hate_ guests, myself. All nuisances, the lot of them.”

“No, no, no...” He felt his anxiety welling. “I do not think that, it is just that everything is such...”

“Chaos.”

“Overwhelming...a bit. I suppose. Maybe.”

“This is absolutely untoward but your sister said that the gardens would be lit tonight and the thought of being trapped in a drawing room with all of my sisters and so many people I don't know...”

Theo glanced up at her hopeful expression and her reddened cheeks, his heart pounding hard in his chest. “You want to walk in the garden...with...me?”

“I-If yuh-you would r-rather not then...I...er...that is...”

“Yes.”

Her fumbling ceased and her eyes widened considerably. Pleased anxiety stirred into her spicy Alpha scent and Theo felt the same odd mixture welling within himself. She was terribly pretty and here she was asking him if he might walk with her in the garden and at least for a moment, he would have his hand tucked into the crook of her arm and he would feel her warmth and—

_Perhaps she will try to scent me._

He whipped his head back to his soup and he wasn't certain whether he wanted that to happen or not. It was normally something that was studiously avoided, but with his condition, it could not do him any harm to be scented in a garden. It could not do him any harm to be compromised in any way. Without turning his head to her, he whispered softly, certain that she could hear him.

_“I shall meet you on the terrace then. After dinner.”_

* * *

He slipped out into the night air on the terrace, braced for the cold to find it pleasantly chilly but not overly so. The bright white light of the moon was bathing the stone in cool gray tones and the crickets were chirping off in the hedges and late blooming flowers of the garden that was alight from the myriad of torches that lined the winding paths. Apple and pear trees were scattered about and every so often, the gravel path was ornamented by swags of grape vines that must have offered shelter to lovers.

Lovers.

He swallowed, nervous of Quinn's intentions again. He had told himself not to allow her to foster any stupidity about him and yet here he was fostering those very same thoughts in his own head. It was his youth, he thought. His mother was constantly telling him that young people often did strange and illogical things and he couldn't help but to agree with her if only from his observations of his own strange and unknowable behavior.

The french doors clicked open behind him and then shut and he knew the Alphas must have come from the table where they had been sitting together for brandy or cigars. Quinn had been invited to sit with them despite appearing rather uncomfortable doing so but now—

“Good evening, little one.”

He let go of a startled gasp when he turned around to find Mr. Whiskam approaching him calmly.

“Have you care for a walk?” he asked. “I came out for some air and here you are looking like you'd rather be taking a stroll.”

_Drat_.

He glanced inside for a moment and the Alpha neared him, close but not _too_ close. A polite distance. “Pardon, Mr. Whiskam, I shouldn't like to take a stroll without...without perhaps...”

“Oh dear me,” he frowned, “I've forgotten in such a long time that you might have need for a chaperone. I am so sorry for placing you in such an awkward position. You see, I've not been on the marriage market in a very, very long time. It was nigh thirty years ago last I saw the inside of a ballroom with a debutante on my mind.” He came forward to lean against the stone rail. “I was a Lieutenant in the Royal Army when I met my late spouse and here I am a widower and threatening to break the rules. Hardly becoming of an officer, isn't it?”

“I didn't mean to imply...” Theo mumbled.

“No, of course not. Though, I must say I shouldn't have asked you to walk with me anyhow, it is only that when I am of mind to ask something of great importance, I do like to be walking. It clears my head.”

Theo felt his thoughts jumble about. “Something of great importance, Mr. Whiskam?”

“Yes. Quite. I thought...well...not to bring up a painful subject, but with your circumstances and mine, I thought it might be prudent to offer for you.”

Theo nearly felt his knees give out from under him. This was far out of his realm of understanding, for certain. “Excuse me?” he whispered. “I don't understand.”

The Alpha smiled at him as if humoring him. “Your bite, little one. Surely you cannot go into society and surely you, of all, know it. It is why you have been so dour about meeting with all of us, isn't it? I'm a widower. I've no reason to be offended by it and it would make my old heart happy to know that I could care for you. I've a substantial bit of wealth that would be yours whenever I died, my children are all grown and gone, and I'm lonely, to be honest.” He took a step toward Theo, further closing the gap between them while he brought his hand up to run the side of his finger underneath the Omega's soft chin. “Aside from all that, you're a very handsome young man, Mr. Neverell, and I am greatly attracted by you.” He leaned forward very slightly, tipping Theo's chin up with his finger before a sudden voice stopped him.

“Please do not kiss him, Mr. Whiskam.”

_Kiss me!?_ Theo caught Quinn from the corner of his eye and was in no small way intensely glad to see her.

“Oh,” Whiskam breathed, straightening and dropping his finger from Theo's sensitive chin. “Hello Miss Idlewind. Not quite the Alpha I thought would scold me. Forgive me, I'd no idea you had designs on upon Mr. Neverell. Not that you should, by any means.”

Quinn drew up, obviously offended. “I beg pardon? Designs? I've no intention to crudely force myself upon him, if that's what you're implying. I should say, nevertheless, that I should have every right to pursue him if he should consider it acceptable and not before.”

Whiskam rolled his eyes at her. “You female Alphas are truly all the same no matter your age but you young things will have my head in a twist every time. You cannot think yourself a proper match. You're barely a woman. A girl with more height than brains, if I may.”

“You may _not_ ,” she told him decisively with a glare. “I am every bit an Alpha as you are.”

He snorted. “Hardly that. You may be an Alpha but you've a lot to learn before you're ready to court any Omega, that is for certain. Your genetics have failed you miserably to have you present so young. Younger even than our Mr. Neverell. I'm almost afraid you'll never recover.”

“I don't doubt that presenting young presents its own challenges but I've no regard for them as a hindrance. If Mr. Neverell should allow it, I would be glad to entertain him, whether it were to lead toward...” she glanced at him with a soft expression and then back to Whiskam with determination, “...anything else, or not.”

“You're a little fool if you think you could handle an Omega's heat.”

Quinn immediately blushed and Theodore felt his own face fill with blood, his heart pounding in his embarrassment.

Whiskam was smirking. “It takes time to perfect the ability to properly take care of an Omega during their more delicate moments and you, my dear, are grossly unprepared.”

“I...I...” she shook her head, still reeling from the bluntness of his speech. “That is... I am... The point is...”

Theo blinked, breaking himself out of his stupor enough to take a step back from Whiskam. With a soft, murmuring voice, he stated abruptly, “I say. It is a nice night. I wondered if I might have a walk. Miss Idlewind?” As if he were an Alpha, he took a few steps toward her and offered her his arm, the gesture something that she must have been used to if she had been a Beta not so long ago. She took his arm almost without thinking, her scent strong and shocked.

Whiskam frowned and still managed to appear amused. “A playful Omega, I see. When you are finished with your game, perhaps you will send word.”

Theo stared at him for a moment before he gave a slight bow of his head and muttered, “Mr. Whiskam,” before he gently pulled Quinn along with him down the steps to the path. His heart was beating so fast he could swear it would burst. He'd never before smelled the scents of two warring Alphas but it was everything he had imagined it would be. Hard and strong and no lesser if they had been at each other's throats. This was the last thing he had thought would happen to him. That two Alphas should fight over him... Though... It was not truly _fighting_ , was it? When they were a suitable distance away from the terrace and hidden under one of the many grapevine laden swags, he stopped and turned to her.

“Mr. Neverell...”

“Theo.”

She started.

“Please,” he said, “Please call me Theo. At least when we're alone.”

“Quinn, then.”

“I've a bondmark on my neck. It was put there by a ruthless and cruel Alpha who sought revenge against my sister and I fair say he got it rather well through me as she suffers for the shame and the guilt it's caused her. Now, I find myself beset by Alphas who've begun to see me as some kind of pitiful thing worthy only to be the target of some sort of savior. Whiskam may have had reasons to state otherwise but they mask that he truly wishes to reap my gratitude and squeeze me for appreciation at every turn. And you, Quinn? Is that what you wish as well?”

She took a step back from him. “Is that what you will assume of me even if I am to say no? Surely Mrs. Neverell was correct when she claimed that you are not so timid after all.”

“Nor are you, Alpha.”

She straightened and brushed off her waistcoat, looking around them as if to seek out any eavesdroppers. “I've not come to ask for your hand. I think you're...” Her scent warmed and he felt himself melting at the memory of those apple ciders and the smell of the woodsmoke from the hearth. “I think you're quite comely and I wouldn't mind getting to know you. Though my body may plead differently, I'm of the mind that I am much too young to be concerning myself with your instincts or anything else to do with you other than your innocent affections. If you do not believe that claim, you are free to send me the way of Whiskam, but I do implore you. I should only wish to talk with you.”

“And what could you possibly care to know?” he asked, feeling defensive.

She shrugged. “Anything, I suppose.”

At a loss, he bumbled. “Well fine then, I guess. My name is Theodore, I've found I cannot tell red from green, and to be absolutely frank, I'm bloody devastated by this whole ordeal and I cannot fathom why any Alpha should ever want anything to do with me at all.” He felt a weight suddenly lift from him and he gave a great sigh, waiting for her response.

She paused a moment, pensive. “I've heard of that,” she mumbled, with her finger to her chin. “Red and green, that is.”

Without warning, he let go a snort of laughter and inexplicably pushed her with his admonishment. “Alpha!”

She laughed and caught him by his elbows, bringing him closer to her until she could draw him near to her enough to let him hear her low toned words. “Little Omega, you are a wonderous being. There is no one quite like you. Everything about you is beautiful and unique. A bite from another is nothing to a true, honest, and practical mate. There is nothing about a foreign mark that can frighten an Alpha worth the name. As my sister told me that she once said about Valentine, it is not your bite that concerns me. It is rather your heart.”

He did not struggle to get away from her, allowing her to keep him close to her, his nose pricking to the smell of her closeness. “Valentine? Lord Netherfield?”

“Yes,” she murmured. “He was once bitten, you know. Twice though, now.”

“Lucky,” he mumbled.

“Because you are not planning on having a season, Theo, I should like to give you something. A um...I suppose it would be a...courting gift. Would you accept it?”

His head was whirling and he couldn't tell if it was from her scent or the words she was saying. A courting gift! An offer of marriage and now a courting gift from this young snip of an Alpha who murmured sweet things into his ears and made romance seem so damnably _easy_. Double drat. Triple drat. His mouth moved before he could stop it.

“It would only be fair for you to take something of mine...that is, if you find my scent at all agreeable...” His mind was blank when he slowly tilted his head to the side, the trusting and vulnerable action eliciting an odd little gulp from the Alpha.

“If I may?” she asked awkwardly.

“Do it,” he whispered with his eyes squeezed shut. “I've never...”

“Me neither,” she confessed.

There was a short pause before he felt her tentative nose brush the side of his throat, the graze of her upper lip causing weakness in his knees and glad for her strong hands still holding his elbows. Her breath in was soft and deep and punctuated with a quiet but powerful feminine sigh that puffed over his flesh and sent a shiver through his whole body.

Without opening his eyes, he turned his head and did the same, pulling in a heavy breath while his memory exploded in wonder.

_Creaking wooden floors and expensive Oriental rugs. Warm hearthstones and ghost stories around a fireplace filled with glowing orange coals. Brandy in apple cider and the sound of his brother's laughter. Georgiana reading her letters out loud to him while he lay in a pocket of sunlight that streamed into her room. Bach on the piano, spilling out of him when he was frustrated about something that seemed so inconsequential now. The way Ash's fingers ran through his hair when she comforted him. Candle wax. Bayberry. Strength. Passion. Understanding. Empathy._

“I've never...” she whispered. “I've never...”

His fingers were gripping her cravat to hold her in place while he took lungfuls of her and savored every memory that flashed through his mind.

Her voice was wavering. “You're the smell of rain on dry fields...you're...you're every small moment of my life that I never knew was important until just this one...”

“Do you...” he breathed against her, pulling her even closer to him to scent her again and again, “Do you think...it's like this...with everyone?”

“No,” she sighed against him, “I certainly do not. Oh my, Theo...”

Romance, he suddenly realized, now seemed just as easy as Quinn Idlewind had made it look. He felt her fingers gently sifting into his hair while she took more long breaths in at his throat. Everything about being scented under a grapevine in the silver moonlight was already inherently romantic—it was that he was there with his girl that was the tipping point for him. He would not have been able to imagine Whiskam's feel or his scent. It was something he had no care to discover. At this moment, in his arms, was the Alpha he wanted. _His_ Alpha.

He took another breath of her and tightened his hold upon her when he whispered a tiny growl.

“ _Mine_.”

She gently pulled from him though not enough to upset him. “I've never kissed anyone before and though it is wholly inappropriate for us to do so—”

He didn't let her finish, eagerly and awkwardly pushing his lips against hers. The notion that it seemed entirely absurd for him to find _his_ Alpha had made the attempt to seep into his consciousness but never found true footing and slid completely away when she kissed him back, their youthful fumbling equal, at least, and each discovery made together. When they parted, he stepped back from her, his hands trembling but this time not for fear or apprehension. He found his breath coming in quick rushes with his growing excitement. “I should like to see you again, Alpha.”

She snickered. “If you've forgotten, I'll be here for the next three days.”

“Oh thank God,” he sighed, having had, indeed, forgotten. “Though after that I will have to write you. I am alright with letters though not as passionate within them as Georgiana.”

Quinn took his gloved hands in hers, swiping her thumb over the back of his knuckles. “I should absolutely adore any words you care to send me and I will do my best to match your wit.” She thought for a second before she chanced a glance back toward the house. “If it is not too bold for your taste, Theo, I...I thought I might ask your sister's permission to...”

“Yes.” There was a pressure in his gut. “Yes. Please.”

“Alright then. If she accepts, then I will be free to give you my gift.”

“She will accept. She has no reason not to.”

Quinn bit her bottom lip. “Whiskam wasn't all wrong, little one...you would have to wait an awful long time. It will be three years before I am sixteen.”

He reached upward and caught her cravat in his fist, pulling her down again until he could press his forehead against hers. “Alpha,” he explained, “you know nothing of an Omega's instinct. Worry yourself over your own matters and I'll worry myself over mine. You may fret over me as much as you like when your own mark is upon my neck. For now, I should like you to remember that without you, I should be at the mercy of men like Whiskam.”

“Oh, do not remind me and do not think of it yourself,” she smiled. “I will fight them all for you.”

“Good,” he murmured. “I'll come to expect it.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know where to end this. In fact, I wrote 90% of it while trashed and also intermittently playing Skyrim. Hopefully it wasn't too jarring for anyone. They're so damned cute, I can't stand it.
> 
> Anywho. If you've got an instagram, go ahead and add me, **asleep19**.
> 
> Don't be shy.


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